{"id":89016,"date":"2019-05-18T15:41:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T22:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=89016"},"modified":"2019-05-18T15:41:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-18T22:41:41","slug":"leaked-diplomatic-cable-suggests-saudi-foreknowledge-of-sri-lanka-easter-bombings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/18\/leaked-diplomatic-cable-suggests-saudi-foreknowledge-of-sri-lanka-easter-bombings\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaked Diplomatic Cable Suggests Saudi Foreknowledge of Sri Lanka Easter Bombings"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Whitney Webb <\/a>\u00a0Courtesy MPN News<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

New evidence suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia not only \nhad foreknowledge of the brutal bombings (and did nothing to stop them) \nbut may have played a more active and direct role in the bloodshed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA \u2014 <\/strong>A leaked Saudi diplomatic memo obtained by Lebanese outlet Alahed News<\/em><\/a>\n claims that the government of Saudi Arabia had foreknowledge of the \nEaster bombings that occurred last month in three cities on the island \nnationof Sri Lanka, killing nearly 300 and wounding over 500 more. The \ncontents of the memo, which additionally suggests Saudi complicity in \nthe attacks, are supported by the connections recently uncovered<\/a> by Sri Lankan authorities, that the alleged ringleader of the bombings, Zahran Hashim, had to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The document<\/a>\n carries the Islamic calendar (Hijri) date of 11\/8\/1440, which equates \nto April 17, 2019 in the Gregorian calendar \u2014 just a few days before the\n bombings \u2014 and is addressed to the Saudi ambassador to Sri Lanka, Abdul\n Nasser bin Hussein al-Harethi, and authored by Saudi Foreign Minister \nIbrahim bin Abdul Aziz al-Assaf. It carries the labels urgent\u201d and top\n secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sri<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The brief memo states the following (translated from Arabic):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Excellency Ambassador Abdul Nasser bin Hussein al-Harethi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should carry out the following measures immediately:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First<\/strong>:\n You should delete all documents, computer data and latest \ncorrespondence with domestic and foreign members and groups, in addition\n to imposing a curfew for the embassy personnel unless [travel] is \nnecessary;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second<\/strong>:\n You should inform all those related to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia \u2014 \nincluding counselors, security forces and intelligence during the three \ncoming days, especially on the Christian Easter Day \u2014 to avoid presence \nin public and crowded places, namely churches;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third<\/strong>: You should send written news about the Sri Lankan authorities and their viewpoints regularly to this ministry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz al-Assaf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign Minister<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo, seen here<\/a>,\n carries the seal of Saudi Arabia, conforms with the format of other \nleaked Saudi diplomatic memos, and carries two watermarks. MintPress<\/em> was unable to obtain a copy for independent confirmation of its authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo dovetails with other new evidence<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The contents of the memo from the \nSaudi foreign minister to the Saudi ambassador to Sri Lanka, \nparticularly its indication of prior knowledge of danger in crowded \nplaces and churches on Easter Sunday, have taken on a new significance \nfollowing the arrest<\/a>\n last Friday of Mohamed Aliyar, a 60-year-old, Saudi-educated Wahhabi \nscholar who operated the Center for Islamic Guidance in Zahran Hashim\u2019s \nhometown of Kattankudy. According to a plaque outside of the Wahhabi \nreligious center operated by Aliyar, the center is funded by unnamed \nSaudi and Kuwaiti donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A statement released by Sri Lankan \npolice stated that Information has been revealed that the suspect \narrested [Mohamed Aliyar] had a close relationship with \u2026 Zahran and had\n been operating financial transactions\u201d on his behalf and was also \ninvolved\u201d in the training of the suicide bombers responsible for the \nmassacres on Easter Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of board members of the center, who spoke to the South China Morning Post<\/em><\/a>\n prior to Aliyar\u2019s arrest, stated that the center was funded by local \ndonations, student fees, and private donors who were classmates of \nAliyar\u2019s in Riyadh;\u201d denounced Zahran Hashim as a troublemaker;\u201d and \ncould not recall having seen him at the center recently. However, the \npolice statement that followed Aliyar\u2019s arrest suggested that his \nrelationship with Zahran Hashim was not a part of his public persona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of key interest in the police \nstatement is the mention of Aliyar\u2019s operating of financial \ntransactions\u201d on Zahran Hashim\u2019s behalf in the lead-up to the attacks. \nSeveral reports, such as this one<\/a> from the BBC<\/em>,\n noted that the attacks required detailed planning, safe houses, an \nextensive network of planners and handlers, expertise on bomb-making, \nand significant funding.\u201d Aliyar\u2019s connections to wealthy Saudi donors \nand to Zahran suggest that he may have been a liaison for much of that \nfunding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the leaked memo\u2019s \ninstruction for the Saudi ambassador to delete all documents, computer \ndata and latest correspondence with domestic and foreign members and \ngroups,\u201d suggests that the Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka may have been \naware or party to these or other transactions related to the Zahran-led \nattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is possible that funding had come from elsewhere, the fact that Zahran\u2019s sister, Mohammad Hashim Madaniya, had been sent<\/a>\n 2 million Sri Lankan rupees (around $12,000) from Zahran just days \nbefore the blast suggests that the amount of money involved in funding \nthis operation was significant indeed and likely of foreign origin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extent of Saudi role<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fact that the Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for the bombings \u2014 and that Zahran pledged loyalty to the group just hours before<\/a>\n the attack \u2014 further suggests a Saudi role, since the Saudi government \nwas revealed to be funding and logistically aiding the terror group in \n2014. Leaked emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton \nrevealed that the U.S. government has long known<\/a> that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are among the main financiers of the international terror group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leaked memo contained in the email to Clinton states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to use our \ndiplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on\n the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing \nclandestine financial and logistic support to ISIS and other radical \ngroups in the region.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While mainstream reports have long asserted that it was private Saudi donors funding the terror group, this email revealed<\/a>\n that U.S. intelligence had determined that the Saudi government was \nfunding the group and also providing them it logistical assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic State\u2019s widely \nacknowledged role in the attacks and its known relationship to the \nSaudis \u2014 in combination with the recent arrest and role of Mohamed \nAliyar in the attacks and the contents of the memo from the Saudi \nForeign Minister \u2014 strongly suggest that the government of Saudi Arabia \nnot only had foreknowledge of the brutal bombings (and did nothing to \nstop them) but may have also played a more active role in the bloodshed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feature photo | A screenshot from an ISIS video shows Zahran Hashim, alleged ringleader of the Sri Lanka Easter Bombings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitney Webb<\/strong> is a MintPress News journalist \nbased in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets\n including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st \nCentury Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television \nappearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for \nUncompromised Integrity in Journalism.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Whitney Webb \u00a0Courtesy MPN News New evidence suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia not only had foreknowledge of the brutal bombings (and did nothing to stop them) but may have played a more active and direct role in the bloodshed COLOMBO, SRI LANKA \u2014 A leaked Saudi diplomatic memo obtained by Lebanese outlet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89016\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}