
These are the first pictures of the suicide bomber brothers who butchered eight Britons when they blew themselves up in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

Wealthy brothers Inshaf and Ilham Ibrahim calmly walked into the luxury Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels and detonated their vests as guests were eating breakfast.

Their attacks claimed the lives of at least 41 foreigners, including eight British holidaymakers - three of whom were children.

Hours later, as police raided their mansion in an exclusive neighbourhood of Colombo, Ilham's pregnant wife Fatima blew herself up, killing her three children and three officers.

Suicide bomber brothers Inshaf Ibrahim (left) and Ilham Ibrahim (right) calmly walked into the luxury Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels on Easter Sunday morning and detonated their vests, killing guests having their breakfast

Inshaf (pictured far right at a business awards), 38, lived with his wife and their four children - an eight-year-old daughter and three boys aged six, four and two - in a £1.5million six-bed mansion on one of the most exclusive streets in Colombo

The wealthy brothers - sons of a millionaire spice trader - are two of nine jihadis who carried out the devastating bomb attacks in Sri Lanka. They are believed to be pictured here alongside National Thawheed Jamaath leader Moulvi Zahran Hashim

Ilham, whose wife Fatima blew herself up when police raided their mansion in an exclusive part of Colombo, is pictured alongside an accomplice bomber entering the second-floor restaurant at the Shangri-La hotel before the deadly attack

It comes as CCTV footage has revealed the moment one of the bomber brothers, Inshaf, nervously shuffling back and forth before deciding to blow himself up at the Cinnamon Grand hotel.

The footage from a camera in the hotel's packed Taprobane restaurant shows the bomber hovering just inches away from diners.

Wearing a light shirt, dark baseball cap and a large backpack, the attacker hesitates - shuffling from foot to foot before detonating his suicide vest at 9.12am.

Monster: Bomber brother Ilham Ibrahim

Inshaf had reportedly checked into the hotel the previous night using a fake name and claiming to be on a business trip.

Earlier, footage revealed that his brother Ilham and an accomplice bomber took a lift to the restaurant of the five-star Shangri-La hotel before blowing themselves up.

Wearing backpacks, the two men appear to discuss their plans in the elevator on the second floor in the final moments before the Easter Sunday massacre.

The bombers then enter the Table One eatery almost unnoticed while hotel guests are having breakfast before he detonates his deadly weapon.

In a split second the plush restaurant becomes a scene of horror as the bomb explodes in a cloud of smoke and bright red flame.

The other brother Inshaf blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand in the wave of almost simultaneous attacks on Sunday morning.

Another bomb tore through a restaurant at the nearby Kingsbury hotel while similar explosions devastated three churches.

Authorities investigating the attack, which has killed more than 300 people, have described the heavy backpacks worn by the suicide bombers as 'crude devices made locally'.

Among the victims at the Shangri-La were British lawyer Ben Nicholson's wife Anita, 42, son Alex, 14, and daughter Annabel, 11.

Mr Nicholson, 43, a lawyer from Essex who lives in Singapore, has told how his ‘perfect’ family ‘mercifully died instantly’ with ‘no pain’.

Danish retail billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen lost three of his four children in the atrocity.

A man believed to be Inshaf Ibrahim (pictured in baseball cap with rucksack) was captured on CCTV appearing to hestitate before blowing himself up in the restaurant of the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday

The bomber shuffles from foot to foot before finally detonating his suicide vest and killing score of guests having breakfast

Ilham and his fellow bomber (pictured) are seen exiting the lift on the second floor of the Shangri-La Hotel and appear to discuss their plans outside the elevator in the final moments before their Easter Sunday massacre

A second chilling CCTV clip captured another of the bombers patting a little girl on the head moments before walking into St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka, before detonating a device

This clip, taken from inside St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, shows the suspected suicide bombing walking inside, moments before he detonated a device killing dozens of worshippers

Also killed in the blast were fund manager Matthew Linsey's son Daniel, 19, and daughter Amelie, 15.

Earlier chilling CCTV footage captured one of the suicide bombers patting a little girl on the head moments before he launched his attack at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo.

The terrorist can be seen sauntering towards St Sebastian's Church in Negombo while wearing a large backpack containing a 'crude device made locally' that was used to massacre Christian worshippers.

It is believed the clip shows the attacker touching the granddaughter of Dilip Fernando, who said: 'At the end of the mass [my family] saw one young man go into the church in with a heavy bag. He touched my granddaughter's head on the way past. It was the bomber.'

The Ibrahim brothers were at the centre of the little-known but highly organised Islamic State terror cell which detonated six bombs in hotels and churches across Sri Lanka.

But while the profile of suicide bombers tends to be of poverty-stricken men with criminal backgrounds, the brothers were the sons of millionaire spice trader Yoonus Ibrahim and were privately educated in Colombo.

The pair, who had six other brothers and three sisters, were widely considered to be moderate Muslims who did not hold extreme views.

Their pictures, taken from a UN database, were identified by a senior police source as well as their brother-in-law, Ashkhan Alawdeen, several neighbours and staff at Inshaf's copper factory.

Ilham, 36, Fatima and their children lived with his parents and other relatives. Ilham is thought to have blown up the Shangri-La Hotel, killing British lawyer Ben Nicholson's wife Anita, 42, son Alex, 14, and daughter Annabel, 11.

Mr Linsey, 61, told yesterday how he met Mr Nicholson as they searched for their children in a hospital. He told the Mail: ‘We hugged and tried to support each other. We helped each other.’

‘He is a lovely man. I spoke to him today. He is still there trying to organise the repatriation of his family.’

Neighbour Zulker Nain, 28, said of the Nicholsons: 'We have known the family for decades and have grown up with them. The parents were leaders in the community and much respected.

'This is a very nice residential area - one of the best places to live in Sri Lanka, not just in Colombo.'

Inshaf was a successful businessman and owned a copper factory (pictured) thought to be where the explosives were made

The factory was raided by police, who took nine suspects into custody, including its manager, supervisor and technician

Inshaf, 38, lived with his wife and their four children - an eight-year-old daughter and three boys aged six, four and two - in a £1.5million six-bed mansion on one of the most exclusive streets in Colombo.

The house, which has its own gym and a fleet of high-end cars, is owned by Inshaf's brother-in-law Mr Alawdeen, a jewellery trader.

Inshaf was a successful businessman and owned a copper factory thought to be where the suicide bombs were made.

He was described by relatives and employees as affluent, calm and devout.

The father-of-four told his wife that he was flying to Zambia on business on Friday, adding that she should 'be strong' before killing himself and multiple others.

Around 100 police officers raided the factory in Wellampitiya, on the outskirts of Colombo on Sunday night. They arrested nine staff, including the manager.

The depot is believed to be the place where the 'mother of Satan' suicide bombs were built before they were detonated on Easter Sunday in Colombo

Inshaf, a father-of-four in his mid-thirties who owned the factory, had told his wife that he was going to Zambia on a business trip before he set off the deadly bomb

Last night Mr Alawdeen told MailOnline: 'My brother-in-law is a psychopath. He deserves to be punished in hell. He lived under my own roof. He seemed so normal.

'He had everything - a good business, a lovely wife and a four adorable children. Why would he do something like this?

'I never noticed anything different about him in recent months. He never mentioned Islamic State and never had extremist views.'

Mr Alawdeen said: 'She thought it was a bit strange at the time but didn't think anything of it because she assumed he was just going on a work trip. After that we all went to our parents' home outside Colombo and were enjoying our weekend when this happened.

'My sister is mentally broken. He has brought shame on our family. I don't want to go out. I don't want to look anyone in the eye.'

Locals at a nearby mosque said feelings against the bombers were running high in the community. 'They have wrecked our lives here now,' said one. 'There are those who want to go and destroy their homes. They have nothing to do with us.'

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks on its news outlet yesterday as it emerged at least one suspect travelled Syria to join the terror group before returning.

The two sons of a wealthy spice trader played a key role in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, blowing themselves up as guests queued for breakfast at the Shangri-La, pictured today, and Cinnamon Grand hotels in the capital

Relatives mourning beside the coffin of one of the suicide bomb victims at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo

After other devices were defused over the weekend, Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned that other members of the network remain on the run.

But yesterday sources said Sri Lankan intelligence officials were tipped off about an imminent attack just two hours before the bombings. Their counterparts in India contacted them to warn of a specific attack on churches, it was claimed.

Another source said a warning was sent by the Indians on Saturday night.

Mr Wickremesinghe has admitted his security services failed to act on an advance warning dating back to April 4 that a terror attack was being planned.

Police have arrested 46 suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the bombers.



Killed as they fled: British brother and sister survived first Sri Lankan terror blast when a suicide bomber struck as they were having breakfast ... only to die in second blast in the hotel corridor

A British teenage brother and sister escaped one of the Sri Lankan terror blasts only to be killed by a second, it was revealed last night.

Daniel Linsey, 19 and his younger sister Amelie, 15, were having breakfast with their father Matthew at the luxury Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo before their flight home.

The teenagers somehow survived when a suicide bomb was detonated among the diners, including many tourists. But they died moments later when a second bomber struck as they tried to escape the carnage.

They are among hundreds of people massacred – including six more Britons – after suicide bombers cut down tourists and Easter Sunday mass worshippers, including dozens of children.

Devastated Mr Linsey, 63, an American city fund manager, returned to the family home in central London yesterday to be with his British wife Angelina, 51, and his other two sons – aged 12 and 21 – who were not on the holiday.

Amelie Linsey, 15, left, and brother Daniel, 19, right, were in the dining room of the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo when a bomber struck but escaped, only to be killed moments later by a second terrorist's blast

In a TV interview yesterday, Mr Linsey described his last minutes with his children.

Speaking to CNN in his London garden as eldest son David, 21, held him, Mr Linsey said the bomb was like a ‘wave of pressure’, and told how his children were serving his breakfast when the bomb exploded.

He added: ‘My children were so nice – they actually went down to the buffet and filled up my plate.

‘Then I wanted more to drink. I was going to get it, my daughter said, “No, I’ll get it” – and then the bomb went off and they both were running toward me, and I’m not sure whether that’s what killed them or not.

‘I knew there’d be another bomb because there always is.’

He said he wanted to escape as fast as possible with his children but the three of them fled straight into the second blast, adding: ‘Maybe I should have just stayed and covered them with my body.’

He revealed how he tried to revive Daniel, a student at Westminster Kingsway College, before helping to carry him to an ambulance.

He told The Times: 'You can't describe how bad it was. People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn't tell whether they were all right, it was dark. I was worried there would be another blast. We ran out — another blast.

'We both went to where the lifts were and I couldn't move them, they were both knocked out. My son looked worse than my daughter. I tried to revive him.

'A lady said she'd take my daughter. I carried my son downstairs to an ambulance, we took him to the hospital. I yelled, 'Please help my son, please help, please help'.

David Linsey, 21, told the Mail the family were on the last day of their Easter break: 'They were due to fly home that day and had been having breakfast when the first bomb went off.

'My dad said they were all caught up in a second explosion as they tried to escape. Both my brother and sister were instantly unconscious and were taken to hospital but they never woke up. My dad is shocked and has not said much apart from that. He is trying to be strong for my little brother who is 12 and my mum.'

Amelie Linsey on a recent trip to Vietnam. She was killed, aged 15, in the Easter Sunday terror attack in Sri Lanka which claimed 310 lives including eight Britons

Mr Linsey was said to have had suffered shrapnel wounds to his face and was yesterday being comforted by relatives at the family home. Oxford graduate David described how his father initially hoped Amelie had survived the impact of the blast as she had no major visible injuries.

'At first they didn't think Amelie was injured badly as there were no obvious wounds. Someone else took her to hospital but she must have had internal injuries.'

'I think they both died instantly as they never woke up. We cannot believe this has happened. I can't describe just how devastating it is. You don't think it will happen to you. We miss them so much already,' he said.

The devastated brother said the family has decided not to watch the news and were not ready to hear emerging questions about security blunders which could have prevented the deadly attacks.

His father also described the distressing wait to have his children’s remains returned to him, saying: ‘I had to send photos of my two children to a doctor in Sri Lanka so he can identify them. I wish they could speed up the repatriation of the bodies.’

Amelie and Daniel were born in Britain but had both US and UK citizenship because their father was born in America.

However, Mr Linsey said he felt let down by the support provided by the British Embassy, adding: ‘I’m an American citizen and my children have dual passports. I did ask to see someone from the British Embassy as my children have dual passports, but no one came over. I was disappointed.

‘The US Embassy may have had more staff but the ambassador saw me twice. I also had a Marine stay with me and a legal adviser got me out through road blocks with diplomatic plates. We need more communication on the ground.’

Among the Britons killed were GP Sally Bradley and her husband Bill Harrop, 56, a retired firefighter, who died when the Cinnamon Grand Hotel was bombed.

Dr Bradley, sister of peer and former Labour MP Keith Bradley, had been living with her husband in Australia since 2013 but they were due to return to Britain to retire in the Cotswolds.