Six arrested militants were planning suicide attacks: RAB
Dhaka: Six suspected militants, arrested from the capital on Tuesday night, were planning to carry out suicide attacks in different parts of the country, including capital Dhaka, according to Rapid Action Battalion.
These six men also claimed responsibility for 11 militant attacks, including that of Holey Artisan Café in Gushan, said RAB legal and media wing director commander Mufti Mahmud Khan.
He revealed the information at a press briefing at the RAB Headquarters in the city on Wednesday.
RAB members arrested five suspected members of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and a member of Ansarullah Bangla Team at different places in the city on Tuesday night, he said.
The arrested persons claimed they are members of ‘Dawlatul Islam Bangladesh’, a militant outfit, and they carried out 11 militant attacks so far, including that of Holey Artisan Café in Gushan, said Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan.
Two pistols, 13 detonators, four machetes, five hand grenades, 12 chocolate bombs, four grams of power gel, eight grams of white gunpowder and five grams of red gunpowder were seized from their possessions.
The arrested militants are: Jahid Anwar, also known as Porag, 22, a student of Govt Titumir College, M Tajul Islam, 29, Jahid Hasan, 21, Engineer Mostafizur Rahman also known as Shifat, alleged administrator of JMB website ‘At-Tamkin’, M Ziaul Hoque Zia, 24, and M Nayan, 21.
On the other hand, Engineer Mostafiz said he is the administrator of website ‘At-Tamkin’ and the five others are the members of ‘Sleeper Cell’ of JMB.
Tipped off that a group of militants were preparing to carry out subversive activities in the capital, the elite force members conducted a drive at Airport Railway Station and arrested Jahid Anwar Parag around 10:00pm on Tuesday, Mahmud said.
Later, upon information obtained from Parag, another team of RAB arrested Tajul and Jahid from a restaurant in the city’s Gabtoli at about 2:00am.
Later, they arrested Engineer Mostafiz, Zia and Nayan at a house at Uttar Bishil in the city’s Mirpur shortly before day–break.
During their preliminary interrogations, five persons claimed themselves to be members of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while another said he was a member of Ansarullah Bangla Team.