Sri Lanka blasts: Brothers, father of mastermind killed in gunbattle

On April 21, unsuspecting people became victims of dastardly terror attack in Sri Lanka. Six bombs went off in three churches and three posh hotels in and around capital Colombo. Hours later, two other bombs blasts were reported.

In the carnage, over 250 people died and 500 were injured.

Authorities upped crackdown on radical groups post the attack, for which ISIS claimed responsibility.

Notably, Zahran was the suicide bomber who attacked Shangri-La hotel, President Maithripala Sirisena confirmed on Friday.

His brothers Zainee Hashim, Rilwan Hashim and father Mohamed Hashim died during a gun battle with forces.

In a video, which was widely circulated, the trio was seen urging people to wage a war against "non-believers".

They discussed "martyrdom" in the video, whose date couldn't be ascertained.

Sherif Niyas, brother-in-law of Zahran confirmed that the video featured the latter's father and brothers.

Meanwhile, Sherif's wife Madhaniya said they stopped talking to Zahran after he spewed venom.

"He had been a fiery orator on Islam and a crowd puller at streetcorner meetings from his teenage days. But I couldn't take it any longer after he started to preach against government," she said.

Madhaniya continued to send food to her parents, despite disliking Zahran's leanings. Her parents lived with her sister close to the street.

Before the attack, the family went incommunicado.

"Neighbors told us on Friday that they were not at home. Their phones had been switched off. Then the blasts happened, and we learned the role Zahran had played," Madhaniya told IE.

Zahran's radical thoughts also got him expelled from Dharul Athar, a mosque he joined in 2006.

While other members of management worked as a team, Zahran wanted to speak for himself. He thought women who wore bangles and earrings were committing sins.

Upset with his habits, the mosque prohibited him from giving speeches for three months in 2009. He never returned.