Western Resistance

« UK: Muslim Cleric Puts Koran On Trial | | US: Mexican Supremacist Group Drools Over Osama bin Laden »

January 21, 2006

Bangladesh: Massive Hunt For Main Islamists Called Off

News reports from the Bangladesh Independent, the Daily Star and Pakistan's Daily Times state that a major manhunt took place in Kushtia (red on map) district, in the west. Police had received information that Abdur Rahman, the leader of Islamic terror group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Bangla Bhai, who is a leader within JMB and also has his own Islamic terror group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB).

Bangla Bhai, who was formerly a teacher called Siddiqul Islam, is pictured above at a press conference at which his group was officially introduced to the media in May 2004. Bangla Bhai is wearing a green hat, at left. Abdur Rahman, a veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviets, is in the center of the picture. Bangla Bhai claimed he had been operating incognito for six years. In the month leading up to the press conference, JMJB was blamed for at least five murders and also instances of torture.

The manhunt, the biggest of its kind, had been initiated after information from a "reliable source" asserted that the two Islamist leaders were in Kushtia region. Ten suspected followers of the men were arrested during the operation, but despite its scale, in which helicopters hovered over two upazilas (boroughs), did not find the fugitives.

The sweep began early on Thursday, with 2,000 security officers taking part, from Rab (Rapid Action Battalion), the paramilitary security force, the police and military. By 1.30 am Friday morning, they gave up.

Kushtia shares in the west a border with the Indian state of West Bengal. A curfew was imposed until Friday evening in nine villages in the upazilas of Poradah and Khajanagar.

Some cynical observers have claimed that the fuss made about the operation was a ploy to draw attention away from current problems with the setting up of the Electoral Commission, whose members are expected to preside over the national election next year.

There has been better news for the police in Bangladesh, when a close associate of Bangla Bhai was arrested at a bus station in Charmatha, in the district of Bogra (green on map). His information led to another JMB individual, and also a large quantity of bomb-making ingredients (pictured below).

The arrested individuals are Ashraful Islam aka Arsad, aka Abbas Khan aka Arafat, aged 22, son of a deceased maulana (scholarly imam) and Abdul Mannan Pramanik alias Mansur.

Rab sources state that Ahraful Islam joined JMB in 2000 and by the end of 2003 he had been promoted Commander of Sherpur thana (parish) in Bogra district. From April 2004, he had worked with Bangla Bhai in Bagmara, states the Independent.

The explosives equipment was taken from the house of Mansur, who was arrested on the spot. The find included electronics devices, detonators, ammunition and explosives (pictured below). According to the Daily Star:

The seized chemicals include 1 kg gunpowder, 6.5 kg sulphur, 4.8 kg lead styphnate, 1 kg beeswax, 5 litre sulphuric acid, 200 gm silica gel, 50 gm chalk powder, 100 gm putty and 500 gm liquid adhesive, said a Rab press release yesterday.

The other materials recovered are 25 yards of wire double ply, one wrench, one cutting plyer, 800 gm nuts, bolts and springs, five jugs, three funnels, six pairs of gloves, two safety pipette fillers, five thermometers, one packet pH indicator (acid-base indicator) paper, one spirit lamp, four jars, three pairs of battery plate, 2.3 kg grenade pins, eight packets of highly inflammable chemical mixed cotton, seven tap insulating rolls, 18 containers, one kg steel and iron balls, 25 switches with circuit, 203 switches without circuit, 34 plastic bodies for switch, 250 indicator bulbs and a set of balance.

The Independent noted that early on Friday morning, two JMB members were arrested in the district of Faridpur (blue on map). One of these men, Amir Hossain, was the Faridpur district commander for the upazilas of Nagarkanda and Bhanga.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Hossain, who then led them to a man called Abdullah from Nagarkanda upazila. As well as being a local JMB leader, Abdullah is a director of an Islamic institution, the Al Manar Islami Sangstha and Manar Kindergarten. Hossain also teaches at the institution. Their interrogation continues.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 21, 2006 10:22 PM

Comments

Post a comment