A radical Islamic cleric who uses the burning Twin Towers as a backdrop to fiery online sermons has been named the mastermind behind the devastating Sri Lanka terror attacks, it was claimed Tuesday.
Sri Lankan intelligence has named local cleric Moulvi Zahran Hashim as being behind the coordinated suicide bombings on churches and hotels that killed at least 321 on Easter Sunday, according to the Telegraph.
He was already eyed for gaining thousands of online followers for hateful online sermons — some using the World Trade Center attacks as a backdrop, according to the report.
His name emerged in warnings earlier in April that radicals were planning attacks in the capital, Colombo — weeks before the suicide bombings, according to the report.
He began posting videos online three years ago calling for non-Muslims to be “eliminated,” according to the Daily Mail.
Muslim leaders reportedly offered repeated warnings about him with no obvious response.
“Some of the intelligence people saw his picture but they didn’t take action,” N.M. Ameen, president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, told the Daily Mail.
Hilmy Ahamed, the Muslim council’s vice president, branded Hashim’s online speeches “basically a hate campaign against all non-Muslims.”
“Basically, he was saying non-Muslims have to be eliminated,” Ahamed told the Daily Mail.
Ahamed told the Telegraph, “We were very concerned that this guy was preaching hate on social media and uploading a lot of videos.”