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March 2, 2006

Bangladesh: Islamist Terror Leader Finally Arrested

News from Xinhuanet comes today, stating that Abdur Rahman, leader of Bangladeshi terror group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh has finally been arrested after a siege took place at his home in Sylhet, in the east of the country.

We reported yesterday on the developments in the operation to claim Rahman for interrogation without killing him. Nine people, including his wife Ayesha, his daughter, three sons and a grandson, surrendered shortly after midday (local time) yesterday (pictured above), and claimed that the two storey house contained explosives and weaponry.

Rahman had verbally taunted the security forces who surrounded the building, saying that he would commit suicide before surrendering. Water was pumped in to lessen the effectiveness of explosives, and apparently tear gas shells were lobbed inside.

Xinhuanet states that Abdur Rahman and three associates finally succumbed, surrendering themselves early this morning, bringing the 31 hour drama, witnessed by a crowd of bystanders, to a close.

The four were then taken into custody, and were being driven under strict security to Dhaka, the capital, for interrogation, according to private television channel, NTV.

Rahman, who had a bounty placed on his head, was given a 40 year jail sentence in absentia on February 21 by a court in Barisal, for his part in the killing of two judges in Jhalakathi on November 14.

As the leader of JMB, Sheikh Abdur Rahman was responsible for the nationwide bomb campaign which was enacted on August 17 last year, which saw the beginning of a sustained terror campaign. On August 17, more than 400 bombs were set off in all of the country's districts save one, injuring more than 100 people and killing a man and a boy. At the sites of the bombs, leaflets were left, demanding that the nation gave up secular law, and institute sharia, or Islamic law.

Since that time, JMB has mounted bombing attacks against courthouses, against judges, and after Ramadan, the terror attacks intensified.

On November 29, a courthouse in Gazipur and one in Chittagong were both hit by suicide bombers, leading to the deaths of 10 people.

Two days later, JMB mounted another suicide bombing at the Gazipur courthouse, killing two.

The arrest of Sheikh Abdur Rahman will hopefully finally reveal who is funding their campaign of Islamist terror. On December 15 a captured JMB local leader from Chittagong claimed JMB was funded by Al Qaeda, and had the support and assistance of the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the four parties in the coalition government.

Abdur Rahman's younger brother, Ataur Rahman Sunny, was captured on December 13. On December 30 he claimed that JMB was funded from the Middle East and Pakistan.

Sunny said that money came from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Sudan and some other Middle Eastern countries and some Islamic NGOs, and moneyed men of these countries donated the money for establishing the 'Rule of Allah'. He claimed his brother Abdur used to receive the money for the purpose, Sunny said. Sunny is now in jail, serving a 40 year sentence for his involvement with the killing of the judges in Jhalakathi.

The Islamic non-government oranisations (NGOs) probably include the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, an organisation outlawed by the US for its support of terrorism, but which is allowed to operate with impunity by the Bangladeshi government. The government even gave RIHS a substantial donation to build mosques, prior to the Gazipur and Chittagong courthouse suicide-attacks. RIHS is widely believed to have bankrolled the August 17 nationwide bombing campaign.

Now that Abdur Rahman is finally captured, alive, and is in custody, it is hoped that many questions concerning funding and JMB's links with the government will eventually be answered.

The photo below shows a man much older-looking than the publicity photographs of Abdur Rahman which were taken two and a half years ago. WIthout the henna in his beard and hair, Rahman's white wispy beard give him an air of age and fragility.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 2, 2006 5:19 AM

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