Who are National Thowheed Jamath?

Prime suspects previously only known for acts of anti-buddhist vandalism

Before the group was named prime suspect in Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, few had heard of National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ).

It is believed to have splintered off from another hardline Islamist group in the country, the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ).

Abdul Razik, the secretary of the SLTJ, was arrested in 2016 for inciting hatred against Buddhists and he later issued an apology.

The NTJ has not claimed responsibility for Easter Sunday’s bloodshed, but a cabinet minister on Monday suggested the government believes it is behind the attacks.

How a fringe group known previously only for anti-buddhist vandalism could have morphed into the apparently well-trained, heavily-armed group that carried out Sunday’s coordinated attacks against Christian and tourist targets is unclear.

The sudden transformation could have caught the security agencies off guard, offering one possible explanation as to why they did not take the intelligence warnings as seriously as would have been expected.

But the group would also have needed help, the Sri Lankan government believes. What form that help took, whether it was just encouragement and inspiration, or something more concrete, is also not clear.

As Colombo last night looked for international links, the Sri Lankan presidency said in a statement: “Intelligence sections have reported that there are international terror groups which are behind local terrorists.”

The Sri Lanka bombings bore all the “hallmarks” of “attacks by other Salafi-jihadist groups, particularly those where local groups receive foreign support”, according to the Soufan Center, a New York-based group that monitors global security threats.

A report released by the group in January said al-qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant wanted to recruit followers in South Asia and their propaganda “highlighted injustices against Muslims in Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Sri Lanka”.