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December 26, 2005
India: Three Islamists Arrested - Plot To Kill Politicians "Foiled"
The Times of India states that three individuals belonging to Harkatul Jihad e-Islami have been arrested by police in Delhi. The ToI states that they have been arrested in separate cases of terrorist acts, with one coming from Andhra Pradesh, and another from West Bengal.
Harkatul Jihad was officially banned by the Bangladeshi government on October 18 this year. Established in 1984 by extreme Islamists, including Mufti Abdul Hannan, who is now in custody in Bangladesh, the group officially announced itself to the world in a press conference in 1992. Harkatul Jihad has committed many terrorist acts.
They have made repeated threats to kill the Opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina. Hannan wennt into hiding since July 2000, after a bomb was discovered at a rally to be held by Sheikh Hasina.
Harkatul Jihad were involved with the group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) when they committed a nationwide bombing campaign on August 17, which killed two and injured more than a hundred in more than four hundred explosions. They share with JMB the desire to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh.
Their activity ranges from killing a journalist on July 16, 2001 at Jessore, to various bombings, including a bomb attack on a Catholic church at Baniachang in Gopalganj on June 3, 2001, killing ten worshippers, and running terrorist training camps.
Harkatul JIhad tried to kill popular poet Shamshur Rahman (pictured), in an axe attack at his home on January 18, 1999. Three man with pick-axes broke into their apartment. The poet and his wife survived, though his wife was struck with an axe and received serious wounds.
The group has been linked with Osama bin Laden, and many of the group's leaders fought in Afghanistan when bin Laden was fighting Soviets.
Hannan's arrest on October 1 led to claims that his organisation had links with members of the coalition government led by Khaleda Zia.
The arrest of the three individuals in India is described in more detail by The Hindu, which only states that one of the three is a member of Harkatul Jihad. This man is called Hilaluddin, a Bangladeshi national, who is said to have been a co-conspirator in an attack on the city of Hyderabad Police Commission's Special Task Force office, which took place on October 12, 2005 (PDF link), killing two people, a guard and a civilian. Theories at the time suggested the civilian had either found the explosives and brought them in voluntarily, or was a suicide bomber. The reasoning stemmed from his body's trunk being blown apart, leaving only his head intact.
Hilaluddin was arrested in Murshidabad district in West Bengal state, with another individual. They had been caught while exchanging weapons which had been smuggled in from Bangladesh. A third person, Mohammad Ibrahim, had been arrested in Hyderabad and brought to Delhi for questioning at the start of December, stated Karnal Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).
Hilaluddin had been snared in a joint exercise between Special Cell police from Delhi and officers in West Bengal. Karnal Singh told reporters that after questioning, the three men had said they had planned to target some leading politicians in Andhra Pradesh, and to attack software parks in Hyderabad and Bangalore. They also had intentions to attack markets and railway stations.
The three had undergone training in Pakistan, in the province of Baluchistan, and had gained knowledge of clock timers and remote control devices to create explosions.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 26, 2005 7:53 PM
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