News
CID questions close associates here of man who carried out violent knife attack in New Zealand
By Norman Palihawadane
CID sleuths have questioned close associates of Ahamed Adhil Mohamed Samsudeen, the man who carried out the attack at a shopping mall in New Zealand.
A senior police officer said that investigations revealed that the attacker had left Sri Lanka as a student in 2011. His close associates are now being questioned in order to gather more information about him.
Ahamed Adhil Mohamed Samsudeen was a resident of Kattankudy.
Police and CID teams had so far not discovered any link between Samsudeen and the Zahran group that carried out the Easter Sunday attacks here, even though the former’s hometown had been at one time a hotbed for such extremists, the officer said.
Samsudeen grabbed a knife at the mall in Auckland and attacked shoppers on Friday, injuring seven, including three critically.
New Zealand Police, who were undercover at the mall, shot and killed the man after he stabbed seven people.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had said Samsudeen was under Police surveillance and was a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
New Zealand agency reports quoted Ardern as saying the man came to New Zealand in 2011 as a 22-year-old, travelling on a student visa. Whether he held extremist views at the time was unknown. He first came to the attention of the police in 2016 after posting extremist material and reposting videos on Facebook. The videos were about war and violence, including a terror bombing in Europe. He was spoken to twice by police that year, in April and May. He was then arrested at Auckland International Airport in May 2017, as police believed he was travelling to Syria to join ISIS, agency reports said adding that New Zealand government had tried for years to deport Samsudeen.
The New Zealand Government released more details on the suspect following the lifting of a court suppression order.
New Zealand court documents made public yesterday said Samsudeen, 32, had arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago on a student visa seeking refugee status, which was granted in 2013.
Samsudeen was inspired by the Islamic State militant group and was being monitored constantly but he could not be kept in prison by law any longer, the government has said.
He came to the attention of the police and security services in 2016 after he expressed sympathy on Facebook for militant attacks, violent war-related videos and comments advocating violent extremism.
Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) MURASAME arrived at the Port of Colombo on a replenishment visit this morning (22 Mar 25).
The visiting ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions.
JMSDF MURASAME is a 151m long Destroyer commanded by Commander HAYAKAWA Masahiro. Meanwhile, she is manned by a crew of 200.
During her stay in Colombo, crew members of the ship are expected to visit some tourist attractions in the city of Colombo and the ship is scheduled to depart the island on 25 Mar 25.
It has been reported that two persons riding a motorcycle were killed in a shooting incident that took place around 11.45pm on Friday [21] night , in front of the southern entrance of the Devundara Sri Vishnu Devalaya, on Sinhasana Road.
The unidentified gunmen, who arrived in a van, opened fire using a T-56 assault rifle and 9 mm firearms before fleeing the scene. The police have recovered 39 T-56 bullet casings, two T-56 rounds of live ammunition, a T-56 magazine, three 9 mm bullet casings, and one 9mm live ammunition.
The van suspected to have been used by the shooters was found abandoned and set on fire on a side road about 800 meters from the crime scene.
The two deceased victims have been identified as Tikira Hennedige Yomesh Nadishan and Marakkala Manage Pasidu Tharuka, both residents of Sinhasana Road, Devinuwara.
Matale Dirstrict SJB MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna yesterday tabled a list in Parliament naming 1,300 members, leaders, trade unionists, and activists of the UNP, who were allegedly assassinated by the JVP. The list was submitted during a parliamentary session as part of the government’s ongoing effort to document victims of political violence.
Along with the names of the victims, MP Wijerathna also introduced over 900 family members of the alleged victims, providing further context to the extent of the violence.
Speaking during the session, MP Wijerathna stated, “Child soldiers were recruited by the JVP even before the LTTE. ‘Kantale Bonikki,’ a 13-year-old child was used to murder a 70-year-old female UNP supporter.” She accused the JVP of using children to kill numerous UNP members during the JVP’s second insurgency.
The MP said that names not included in the current list would be submitted during the upcoming “Batalanda Debate” in April.
MP Wijerathna invited the public, via her Facebook page to submit further details on family members affected by political violence to ensure their inclusion in the extended record.
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