COLOMBO: The two brothers zoomed around the Sri Lankan capital in flashy cars and pursued thriving careers, now their neighbours are struggling to understand how the pair turned to extremism and became suicide bombers.on three churches and three hotels that left 253 dead, businessman Mahanama Jayamanne had just settled for a nap when he was jolted by a blast that made the windows of his bungalow shake.
As Ibrahim's prosperity grew, he moved into a nearby mansion and acquired a fleet of expensive cars, but his work ethic never flagged, said Jayamanne. And in a neighbourhood where children regularly play outdoors, their kids were rarely seen in public, he said."The women were always covered up, the men were often wearing the skullcap. I found it strange, I didn't like it," she said."But I never realised they were violent.
The siblings had reportedly willed property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to relatives just before the bombings.As the neighbourhood tries to come to terms with its newfound notoriety, Jayamanne said he could not understand how a family he considered friends could massacre his fellow Christians.