DISTRAUGHT families in Sri Lanka have been forced to watch a slideshow of corpses as part of the grim process of identifying the dead.
At least 359 people were killed in coordinated bomb attacks carried out by deranged ISIS extremists at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday.
In capital Colombo, where six of the eight attacks took place, families have attended a mortuary to view gruesome photographs of the dead on a projector screen, reports The Times.
One picture of a man’s bloodied face “pockmarked” by shrapnel prompted a guttural cry from the front of a small crowd of grieving relatives.
A man, overwhelmed by grief, collapsed in his chair at the sight of his murdered son-in-law while his wife wept in silence beside him.
The horrific slideshow rolled on with more bodies, some with “appalling injuries”, flashing up for those in the audience waiting anxiously for news of their missing loved ones.
Relatives are still wandering the country’s hospitals and mortuaries in search of victims – many of whom attended church on Easter Sunday and never returned.
Another 16 of the dead were identified yesterday while more than 50 remain unclaimed at the Colombo mortuary alone.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- At least 359 people killed and 500 injured after nine suicide bombers attacked three churches, four hotels and a block of flats in Sri Lanka
- Thirty-nine foreigners were killed including eight Brits, 'several' Americans, one Dutch, one Chinese, two Turkish, three Danes and one Portuguese national
- 40 suspects have been arrested
- Authorities name local Islamic terror group National Thowheeth Jama'ath as being responsible for the attacks saying they were helped by 'international network' of jihadis
- ISIS claims the suicide bombers were 'soldiers of the Islamic State'
A few foreigners remain unidentified in the deep freeze meaning hospital staff are unsure when they will be released.
Ajith Tennakoon, the chief judicial medical officer, said: “So many foreigners have fled Sri Lanka that no one may come to claim them – people are too afraid.
“When we can, we will go through their effects, take fingerprints and DNA samples to pass on to Interpol.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that one of the suicide bombers studied in the UK before returning to his homeland to commit mass murder.
A government minister added that the twisted ISIS extremist also studied a post-graduate degree in Australia but did not reveal his name.
Speaking at a news conference, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said: "We believe that one of the suicide bombers studied in the UK and later did his postgraduate studies in Australia before coming back to settle in Sri Lanka."
Authorities said that there were nine suicide bombers, including a woman, who murdered at least 359 people on Easter Sunday.
Speaking about the extremists' backgrouds, Mr Wijewardene said: “Some of the suicide bombers – most of them are well educated and come from maybe middle and upper middle class.
“So they are financially quite independent. Their families are quite stable financially. So that is a worrying factor in this.
“They studied in various other countries. They hold degrees. They are quite well educated people.”
'WELL EDUCATED' EXTREMISTS
In 2016, the Sri Lankan government said that 32 of its Muslim citizens from “well-educated and elite” families had fled to Syria and joined ISIS although it's not clear if any of those fighters were involved in Sunday’s attack.
And in an astonishing revelation, Mr Wijewardene said that top intelligence officials deliberately hid information on the attacks and security chiefs did not take action.
The minister also said the massacre must have been planned for at least seven or eight years.
Yesterday, ISIS released a picture which it claims shows seven of the terrorists alongside the mastermind who co-ordinated the horrific massacre.
The image was released by the Amaq news agency — the death cult's propaganda unit — and is said to show extremist cleric Zahran Hashim.
'FIGHTERS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE'
Hashim is seen with men in the picture who are all seen standing in front of an ISIS flag.Amaq news agency claimed that the terrorists involved in the attacks were "fighters of the Islamic State".
In an earlier statement, the extremists said: "The perpetrators of the attack that targeted nationals of the countries of the coalitions and Christians in Sri Lanka before yesterday are fighters from the Islamic State."
On Monday, the Sri Lankan government named local terror group National Thowheeth Jama'ath as being responsible for carrying out the horrific attacks with the help of an "international network" of Jihadis.
Earlier it emerged that an unverified video posted to social media claimed an ISIS-affiliated group was behind the attacks.
The video, purportedly from Al Ghuraba Media, run by supporters of the terror group, featured the chilling message: “This bloody day is our reward to you.”
It also showed photos of three of the alleged suicide bombers.
The men are named as Abul Barra, Abul Mukhtar and Abu Ubaida and appear in front of a black ISIS flag giving a one-finger salute.
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