One of the bombers in the Sri Lankan Easter Sunday attacks studied in the UK and Australia, the country's deputy defence minister revealed on Wednesday. 'We believe one of the suicide bombers studied in the UK and then later on did his postgraduate in Australia, before coming back to settle in Sri Lanka,' said Ruwan Wijewardene, without naming the suspect. He said one of the bombers was a woman. He told a press conference in the capital, Colombo, that most of the suicide bombers were 'well-educated and come from middle or upper-middle class,' adding that they were 'financially quite independent.' Some held law degrees,' he added. Mr Wijewardene's comments came as the police confirmed that the death toll for Sunday's massacre had risen to 359. The attacks were claimed on Tuesday by the Islamic State militant group, which did not give any evidence to support its claim. If true, it would make it one of the worst attacks linked to the group outside Iraq and Syria. The deputy defence minister said that 60 people 'have been arrested on possible links to the attacks' and 32 of those are still in custody. All are Sri Lankan. Among thoseassisting police,reported India's First Post, is Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the Sri Lankan business community, whose two sonsImsath Ahmed Ibrahim, 33, and Ilham Ahmed Ibrahim, 31allegedly bombed the breakfast buffets at the Cinnamon Grand and Shangri La hotels. Indian intelligence sources told the website that a third sonIjas Ahmed Ibrahim, 30,was also reportedly asked about the attack. Police are understood to be investigating possible links to overseas jihadist networks and training camps that had been hidden on a remote compound near Wanathawilluwa, on the island's west coast. The compound, believed to be linked to the chief suspects in the Easter Sunday bombings, the National Thawheed Jamaath group, was raided by police in January. Police outside the home ofMohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the Sri Lankan business community Credit: Sam Tarling Officers found 100kg of military grade explosives and arrested four suspects, all of whom were released on bail. One Sri Lankan minister alleged on Monday that political pressure had been applied to free them. Outside the Ibrahim family home in Colombo, neighbours told The Telegraph that Imsath was the business brains and Ilham was more aloof and awkward. "Imsath was the best of the sons. He runs the business and he drives good cars and wears Western brands,' said one neighbour. "Ilham was not so bright and not well educated." At a copper factory owned by Imsath in the Colombo suburb of Wellampitiya, workers said they had not seen him for a week. Sri Lankan staff and supervisors at Colossus Ltd had been arrested for questioning leaving only abandoned Bangladeshi migrant workers. A Bangladeshi worker walks through a copper reclamation factory owned by Insaf Ibrahim, a suspected bomber, along with his brother Ilham Credit: Sam Tarling Police had repeatedly visited, but the factory was open and not cordoned off. "We are very scared and only want to get back home, but we have no money," said one worker. Since theattacks, the Sri Lankan authorities have admitted they failed to act on precise intelligence from India that extremists were plotting to bomb churches. On Tuesday, Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan President, said warnings had not been shared with him and promised "stern action". He used a late nighttelevised address late to pledge he would completely restructure the police and security forces in coming weeks. Read more | Sri Lanka attacks "The security officials who got the intelligence report from a foreign nation did not share it with me. I have decided to take stern action against these officials,' he said. In an alarming claim, Lakshman Kiriella, the leader of the parliament, alleged that senior officials had deliberately withheld intelligence about possible attacks. "Some top intelligence officials hid the intelligence information purposefully. Information was there, but the top brass security officials did not take appropriate actions," he told fellow MPs. "Somebody is controlling these top intelligence officials," he said. "The Security Council is doing politics. We need to investigate this." Separately, Sarath Fonseka, former army chief and minister of regional development, asserted that the attacks "must have been planned for at least 7-8 years." Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency and launched a desperate hunt to avert more attacks. Security officials from the UK, UAE and US have arrived to assist. Alaina Teplitz, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka, warned that the danger was not yet over. "We had no prior knowledge of these attacks," Ambassador Alaina Teplitz,Washington's ambassador to Colombo, told reporters in Colombo. "We believe there are ongoing terrorist plots. Terrorists can strike without warning. Typical venues are large gatherings, public spaces. A high-level intelligence official in Sri Lanka told CNN that the NTJ was planning a second wave of attacks across Sri Lanka.
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