Bruce Tefft
Sat, 10 Dec 2005 14:19:29 -0800
ESCALATION OF JIHADI TERRORISM IN BANGLADESH INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR: PAPER NO. 4 [From: South Asia Analysis Group, Paper no. 1643, 10 December 2005] As the 34th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh (December 16, 2005) approaches, the Jamaatul Mujahideen (JUM) and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Bangladesh) have stepped up their acts of suicide terrorism and intimidation of innocent civilians. While most of the intimidatory threats have been issued in the name of the JUM only, some have been jointly issued by the JUM and the HUJI (B), indicating a close co-ordination of the activities of different jihadi terrorist organisations. Till recently, the intimidatory threats were mainly directed towards those not supporting the Jihadis' demand for the establishment of Islamic rule in accordance with the Sharia. Now the threats are being addressed at women, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, Bangladeshis or foreigners, not covering their faces, girl students going out with boys or going out alone after the sun set, students singing the Bangladesh national anthem, which is being denounced as a Hindu song, judges refusing bail to the jihadi terrorists arrested by the police after the recent explosions, those who had played an active role in Bangladesh's War of Liberation, which is projected as an anti-Islam war etc. The recent wave of jihadi terrorist strikes, which started on August 17, 2005, was initially directed at public buildings, govt. offices etc without causing large human fatalities. They then spread to targeted suicide attacks on members of the legal profession and the judiciary, meant to kill as many as possible. Now, the terrorists have started attacking leftist and secular non-governmental organisations and killing civilians indiscriminately. The virus of the deliberate killing of Muslims by Muslims in the name of Islam, which originally started in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region and from there spread to Iraq, has now spread to Bangladesh. In the latest incident of suicide terrorism reported from Netrakona, a town located North-East of Dhaka, on December 8,2005,a suicide bomber, suspected to be belonging to the JUM, blew himself up, killing six other people and injuring at least 46 others in a crowd in front of the office of a leftist cultural organisation called Udichi.Three people, including the suicide bomber and Udichi's district unit joint convenor, died on the spot, one on way to the hospital while three others died from their injuries later. Ten policemen were among those injured when the bomber rammed a bicycle into a crowd and detonated the bomb. The crowd had gathered there after another bomb planted on the ground had exploded while firefighters were trying to defuse it. The police claim to have arrested another suicide bomber, who was among those in jured. This is the second time the Police have claimed to have arrested a suicide bomber during the last two weeks, but they have not been able to extract any worthwhile information from them about the masterminds of the explosions, which have rocked Bangladesh since August 17, 2005. This is the second time the Udichi has been the target of jihadi terrorists. Pro-Taliban and pro-Al Qaeda jihadi terrorism started in Bangladesh with an explosion at a function organised by the Udichi on March 6, 1999, at Jessore, in which 10 persons were killed. Since then, there have been 33 bomb explosions and hand-grenade attacks by the jihadi terrorists in different parts of the country causing 179 fatalities. The discovery of the dead body of a Hindu at the spot of the latest incident was sought to be exploited by the authorities to project the JUM as a criminal and not a jihadi terrorist organisation, which, according to them, had members from different religions. The police projected the dead Hindu as another suicide bomber, but this has been vehemently denied by many eye-witnesses and by the brother of the deceased. According to them, he was one of the onlookers who had rushed to the scene after the first explosion. The police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB ) raided a fish farm at Delduar upazila in Tangail on December 9,2005, and claimed to have recovered 12.5 kgs of gunpowder kept in 25 packets, 10 kgs of iron-weights used in fishing nets, four detonators, one kg of explosive gel, two kgs of carbon powder, some batteries and two kgs of electric wire and switches. The details of the material seized as given out by the police would indicate that the terrorists, while being increasingly lethal, have so far been carrying out their terrorist strikes mainly with not so sophisticated, locally available material. Mr.Lutfuzzaman Babar, the Bangladesh Home Minister,admitted on December 9,2005, that the Government faced a long battle to stop "dangerous, daring and mostly poor" Islamic suicide bombers. He added: "It's not a thing we can do anything about overnight. It's a big challenge". Mr.Khandaker Monirul Alam, a spokesman of the Home Ministry, said: "These suicide bombers are dangerous and daring. They are mostly poor, madrassa (Islamic religious school) educated and thoroughly brainwashed." The latest suicide bombing has led to a public backlash against the terrorists.Tens of thousands of demonstrators all over the country protested against the "anti-Islamic" suicide bombings, following an appeal by Maulana Obaidul Haq, the chief cleric of Bangladesh's Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, to Muslims to protest against the suicide bombings. He has denounced them as "against the basic tenets of Islam." He told a Friday religious congregation in Dhaka on December 9, 2005:"Suicide bombers are Islam's enemies.Islam prohibits suicide bombings. We have to be united to fight this evil force." The secular and leftist political parties and non-Governmental organisations under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, the former Prime Minister, have mounted their own campaign against jihadi suicide terrorism as well as against the Government of Begum Khalida Zia for what they project as its collusion with Islamic fundamentalist parties and jihadi terrorist organisations. The efforts of Begum Khalida Zia for an ostensible national united front against jihadi terrorism have failed to take off due to the huge trust deficit, from which she suffers. Her credibility continues to be very low amongst the secular forces---whether political or non-political. Her refusal to admit till the beginning of this year the spread of the virus of jihadi terrorism, the failure of the police to investigate vigorously acts of jihadi terrorism directed against her political opponents and to arrest the leaders of the three jihadi organisations banned this year after she reluctantly admitted the spread of jihadi terrorism and her continued association with Islamic fundamentalist parties, which have clandestine links with the jihadi terrorist organisations like the fundamentalist political parties of Pakistan, have come in the way of the secular forces of the country co-operating with her against jihadi suicide terrorism. Some members of her own political party are reported to be unhappy with her mollycoddling the fundamentalists and jihadi terrorists despite the escalating jihadi terrorism. In her attempts to use the Islamic fundamentalists and jihadi terrorists to serve her political objectives, she has proved herself to be no different from President General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. As in Pakistan, so too in Bangladesh, action taken by the Government for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution No.1373 against international terrorism has been unsatisfactory. Madrasas, funded by Saudi, Kuwaiti and Pakistani money, contine to mushroom without any check by the Government, there has been no meaningful action against the flow of funds to jihadi terrorists and jihadi terrorism volunteers from India, Myanmar and southern Thailand continue to enjoy sanctuaries in Bangladesh territory. Mosques and madrasas, allegedly funded by a Kuwait based NGO, Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), have been an important recruiting ground for the JUM, the HUJI (B) and the Pattani terrorists of Southern Thailand. It is time the UN Security Council, which monitors the implementation of UNSCR 1373, takes cognisance of the jihadi goings-on in Bangladesh territory and calls the local Government to account. (The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.saag.org/%5Cpapers17%5Cpaper1643.html ................................................................... Sun. December 11, 2005 Two suicide bombers held, bombs seized JMB threat continues Star Report [From: Daily Star (Dhaka)] Law enforcers in separate drives have arrested 16 cadres of outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) including two suspected suicide squad members across the country. Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claims one of the suspected suicide squad members arrested yesterday in Demra in the capital is a student of economics at Jahangirnagar University (JU). Meantime, law enforcers seized two powerful bombs in Patuakhali and Sirajganj, yesterday while a bomb hoax was reported in Chittagong. JMB threatened to blow up the Islamic University and Dinajpur Government College. The Rab in a raid arrested the alleged suicide bombers Deen Islam alias Raju, 20, and Sabuj alias Washim, 24, in Gopalbagh in Demra, reports our JU correspondent. The elite force launched the raid following information gleaned from JMB suicide squad members arrested in Chittagong in November, Rab sources said. Sabuj, son of Abdus Salam, who hails from Kaliakair in Gazipur, is a JU student of the 2001-2002 academic session, while Raju is the son of Golam Rasul of Bhanga upazila in Faridpur. They have been handed over to Rab-3 in Dhaka for interrogation. Sabuj joined the JMB in January and Raju in the first week of November this year. Their bosses had sent them to Dhaka with assignments to visit different schools, madrasas and houses to invite people to join JMB and collect subscriptions from group members. "Sabuj is a trained member of the JMB suicide squad," claimed a Rab press release. TANGAIL ARRESTS Police arrested 13 suspected JMB cadres including a suicide squad member, who fled during Friday's bomb-making materials seizure, in Tangail, Jamalpur and Sherpur since Thursday, reports our Tangail Correspondent. Meer Suman, 20, who narrowly escaped arrest in Tangail on Friday, was arrested in Chaualee in Sirajganj yesterday. His father Meer Solaiman and two other militants held during the seizure were placed on a four-day remand yesterday. Among other arrestees, eight were held in Tangail, a Northern University student in Jamalpur and two in Sherpur. The arrestees in Tangail include an imam of Taktarchala Purba Para Mosque and four students of Mirzapur SK Pilot High School. The police arrested two suspected JMB cadres with over 100 books on jihad and leaflets yesterday in Sherpur town. Moreover, police yesterday arrested a madrasa teacher in Lalmonirhat suspecting his link to the August 17 blasts, writes BDNEWS. BOMBS RECOVERY The Rab recovered a bomb from a grocery shop on Dattabari Road near Sirajganj Government College on Friday night, reports BDNEWS. Police yesterday found a powerful bomb inside the telephone distribution box near the sadar upazila land office in Patuakhali, reports our Patuakhali Correspondent. Gazipur police yesterday recovered a bomb from Rajbagan in the district, writes our Staff Correspondent. Meanwhile, a number of people identifying them as JMB members called two teachers of Kazi Azimuddin College and Rani Bilashmoni Government Boys' High School and threatened to blow up the institutions if they were not closed. In Chittagong, the Rab recovered a bomb, which finally appeared to be a hoax, reports our Staff Correspondent in Chittagong. On information, the Rab raided the area and found a sweetmeat box tied with red tape. The box had no explosives inside. MORE JMB THREATS JMB again threatened the examination controller of Islamic University yesterday to blow up the university in Kushtia if scheduled examinations were not cancelled, reports A Correspondent from IU. JMB in a letter yesterday threatened to blow up the administrative building of Dinajpur Government College in three days if the authorities failed to release Tareque Rahman, a student of mathematics, writes our Dinajpur Correspondent. Tareque, a second year student of the college, was arrested for his suspected links to JMB. JMB yesterday threatened to kill Swechchhasebak League convenor of Kawkhali upazila Niyat Ahmed over cellphone for organising a procession against the outfit, writes our Pirojpur Correspondent. Law enforcers yesterday thoroughly searched the Chittagong University (CU) Arts Faculty building after an anonymous letter sent to the chairman of Arabic and Islamic studies department threatened to blow up the building, our CU Correspondent adds. Keshabpur police arrested a madrasa student on Friday night, writes our Jessore Correspondent. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/11/d5121101033.htm .................................................................. 11 JMB suspects held in 3 districts Our Correspondent, Tangail Police arrested at least 11 suspected cadres of Jama'atul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) from different areas of Tangail, Jamalpur and Sherpur districts since Thursday. Of the arrestees, eight were netted in Tangail, one in Jamalpur and two including an Indian citizen in Sherpur. In Tangail, Delduar police arrested Mollah Aman Ullah, 45, Meer Soliaman, 55, and Shohel, 20, from Baruha Bhurbhuria village in the upazila on Friday. Mirzapur police arrested Maolana Yisha-al-Magazi, an Imam of Taktarchala Purba Para Mosque on Friday and four others from Bawer Kumarjani and Postkamuri villages in the upazila on Thursday. They are Habibur Rahman, Pappu, Saddam and two brothers Rana and Rabin. All of them are students of Mirzapur SK Pilot High School, police said. Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirzapur Police Station, however said they were arrested on suspicion. In Jamalpur, Islampur thana police arrested JMB suspect Manjur Rahman alias Manjurul, 25, of Malpara village on Friday. Police said Manjurul is a student of the Northern University in Dhaka. In Sherpur, BDR personnel of Nakshi border outpost nabbed Indian citizen Monoranjjan Chakraborty, 42, from Rangtia area under Jhinaigati upazila, suspecting his involvement with militants. During interrogation Monoranjjan introduced himself as son of one Hemonto Chakraborty of Jagatkura Nandi village in Roudrapur Para thana in Uddamonsha Nagar district of Meghaloy. Monoranjjan Chakraborty entered in Bangladesh without any passport and other documents. He is being interrogating but police are yet to find out the real motive for his illegal entry into Bangladesh, sources said. Earlier, Sherpur Sadar thana police arrested one Shadhu Ramachandra Brammachari from Noya Bazar area in the town on Thursday. He has been sent to jail. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/11/d51211070279.htm ..................................................................... JMB bicycle bomber blows himself up: 7 killed 10 cops among 46 hurt in front of Netrakona Udichi office Star Report A suicide bomber of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) yesterday blew himself up, killing six other people and injuring at least 46 in a crowd in front of Udichi office in Netrakona. Three people including the bomber and Udichi's district unit joint convenor died on the spot, one on way to hospital while three others died from their injuries later. Ten policemen were among the wounded in the bombing where the bomber rammed his bicycle into a crowd and detonated the bomb. The crowd gathered there after a bomb had exploded while firefighters were trying to defuse it. The first bomb was believed to have been planted as a prelude to the main attack. Main opposition Awami League has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district for Sunday to protest the blast incident. Investigators said primary investigation suggests that the man on bicycle was the attacker. But they have yet to be convinced whether the bombing was carried out by more than one bomber. The identity of the attacker could not be known as of last night. Police suspect the attack was made by two bombers and the second one is Yadav, who died from his injuries later at hospital. But an investigator seeking anonymity told The Daily Star last night that they are not sure whether Yadav was involved in the attack. Police found a JMB leaflet on the scene. In the leaflet, the banned militant outfit reiterates its call for jihad to establish Islamic rule in the country. It also vows to crush all obstacles that might come along the way. Fifth since the first ever suicide bombing in Jhalakathi, yesterday's attack took place in the hometown of State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar. Casualties rose to 25 with the latest one in a series of suicide blasts that earlier hit Jhalakathi on November 14, Chittagong and Gazipur on November 29 and Gazipur again two days later. Three of yesterday's victims were identified as Udichi's joint convenor Khwaja Haider Hossain, Jahanara and Ripon. Back on March 6, 1999, a powerful explosion at a conference of the same cultural organisation in Jessore left 10 people dead and scores of others injured. THE CARNAGE Witnesses said some locals spotted a bomb in front of the office of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi, a left-leaning cultural organisation, at about 9:40am. Shortly afterwards, fire fighters rushed to the scene and started to splash water on the bomb to have it defused. But it went off, injuring three people including two policemen. On hearing the news, as a large number of people including police officials and local administrators thronged the scene, the bomber riding a bicycle got into the crowd and blasted the bomb. Witnesses said the bomber died on impact. The blast severed his right hand and electric wire was found tied around his body. Udichi leader Khwaja Haider and Jahanara, 35, of Patpotti area of the town also died on the spot while 44 including 10 police constables and the other suicide bomber were injured. Of the wounded, 10 were admitted to Netrakona Sadar Hospital and the rest to Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital (MMCH). One died while people were preparing to shift them to the MMCH. Ripon of Kachari Road and an unidentified man died during treatment at the MMCH. POLICE CLAIM Police said people found Yadav, a motor mechanic of Chhotobazaar area in the town, lying on the ground with most of his body charred in the blast. An unexploded bomb was tied to his right thigh, they added. Police rushed him to Netrakona Sadar Hospital in a critical condition. Explosives experts of Rab defused the bomb roped to his body at around 3:30pm at the hospital. But he succumbed to his injuries at around 4:00pm, police sources added. Locals said Yadav hails from Bridgechaparkona village of Saota union in Barhatta upazila of Netrokona. He is the son of Satyendra Chandra and Arati Rani. Netrakona SP Ali Hossain Fakir, however, did not confirm his identity. SITUATION AT HOSPITALS Condition of five of the injured undergoing treatment at the MMCH was stated to be critical, our Mymensingh correspondent reports. Two victims including a youth aged about 18 years died during treatment at the hospital. Doctors declared dead the second suicide bomber when he was brought to MMCH later. Four of the policemen undergoing treatment have been identified as ASI Abdus Samad, havilder Shah Alam, constables Ismail Hossain and Humayun. The other injured are Sudipta Pal, Sahana Begum, Mohtasin Billah, Shafiq, Bimol Saha, Liton, Abul Kalam Azad, Aurangjeb, Subrata Roy, Khokon Das, Milton, Liton, Mahbub Zaman, Hirenda, Rony, Nikhil Chandra Sarker, Saptam Saha, Sujit Dhar, Sushak Banik, Sumon Saha, Sarwar Hossain, Masudur Rahman, Sattar, Alal Uddin, Shelly, Rezaul, Munna, Ashraful, Razib, Abdul Hakim, Shankar and Murshida. Bimol and Munna were shifted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital as their condition deteriorated. Condition of no one of the 10 undergoing treatment at Netrakona Sadar Hospital was learnt to be critical. NETRAKONA: HAVEN FOR MILITANTS? Although JMB militants had threatened on a number of occasions to carry out bomb attack on government offices, courts and educational institutions, police did not take measures to arrest the militants. They rather denied all along the militants' existence in the district, reports our Netrakona correspondent. District SP Ali Hossain Fakir who too had received a death threat over phone told The Daily Star recently that the threat was made from outside the district. "There is no militant activity in my district," he observed. Local reports say many militants were sheltered in different madrasas and mosques, taking advantage of slackness of the law enforcers. Soon the town became a safe haven for the religious extremists. Meanwhile, Lutfozzaman Babar visited the spot and the victims at different hospitals yesterday afternoon. He instructed the law enforcers to launch an extensive drive against the militants and hunt them down. "Such blasts are taking place not only in Netrakona but across the country. Bombers must be cut off from the ones supplying them with explosives and funds. Besides, the people will have to unite to resist them," he said at the site. SECURITY As an uneasy calm descended on the whole district after the ghastly attack, paramilitary BDR have been deployed in Netrakona town. Additional police forces were called in from different upazilas and were stationed at different points across the town. Police so far have arrested eight people for suspected links to the suicide bombing. Panicked, people shut their shops and businesses while vehicles stopped plying the roads soon after the blasts. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d5120901011.htm .................................................................... Huge bomb-making materials seized 3 arrested from Tangail den Our Correspondent, Tangail The police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) raided a fish farm at Delduar upazila in Tangail yesterday and recovered a large quantity of explosives and bomb-making materials, which is enough to manufacture over 200 bombs of the type Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) suicide squad members have been using. The seized explosives and bomb-making materials include 12.5kg gunpowder contained in 25 packets, 10kg of iron-weights used in fishing nets, four detonators, 1kg explosive gel, 2kg carbon powder, some batteries, 2kg electric wire and switches. The law enforcers also arrested three persons during the five-hour drive. The police had arrested a village doctor from Baruha Bhurbhuria on Thursday who belongs to an Ahle Hadith community. He disclosed to the police that a large quantity of explosives and bomb-making materials had been kept hidden in the area. Based on his statement, a team of the Detective Branch (DB) went to the area yesterday noon prompting two persons to run away from a tin-shed house constructed on a beel (swamp) at Bhurbhuria under Delduar. The law enforcers raided the house and found the explosives and bomb-making materials. A large number of the police and Rab members cordoned off the area. The law enforcers arrested Sohel from the house who informed them that the two young men who fled the scene are Meer Sumon and Meer Dipon, sons of Solaiman of nearby Baruha Maddhyapara village. The law enforcers arrested Solaiman, who works as a sub-assistant engineer in the Telegraph & Telephone office in Rajshahi. Captain Tareq of Rab-9 said, "With the explosives and bomb-making materials recovered, around 200 bombs similar to those now being used by JMB suicide squads, could be made." A magistrate from Tangail went to the scene and prepared a list of confiscated materials. Flight Lieutenant Shahjahan of Rab-9, who led the drive, said circumstantial evidences suggest that the place had been used to make bombs earlier. The explosives and bomb-manufacturing materials were wrapped in a newspaper published on December 2, suggesting that those were brought in last week. Sources in the intelligence agencies said JMB militants established a strong network in Tangail and carrying out their activities out of a good number of mosques run by a Kuwait based NGO, Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS). JMB had created safe houses at different parts of Tangail where militants were trained on how to blast bombs. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/10/d5121001011.htm ..................................................................... Sat. December 10, 2005 More bombs seized in districts as JMB issues fresh threats 28 suspected militants held Star Report Law enforcers recovered 10 bombs from different districts yesterday while banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) threatened to blow up a police station, an upazila health complex, a madrasa and a department of Islamic University. Besides, police and other law enforcers arrested 28 suspected JMB militants in places across the country. The police recovered seven sacks of books and leaflets related to militancy abandoned on the bank of the river Burigunga near the Mitford Hospital in the capital early yesterday. The books include 'Afghan Jihader Ajana Kahini', 'Talebani Shashan and Shashner Upama' and 'Keno Jihad Korbo'. In Ramu of Cox's Bazar, the banned Islamist outfit threatened to blow up Ramu Upazila Health Complex if in next seven days it does not stop promoting various family-planning methods that the militants described as anti-Shariah, reports UNB. The militants made the threat in a letter sent to Ramu Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Selim Uddin on Thursday. "These anti-Shariah activities would not be allowed in the country," they said in the chit, referring to vasectomy, ligation and use of condoms. The extremists also threatened to blow up a mosque, Thana Bhaban and Upazila Parishad Bhaban in Ramu. Our Jhenidah correspondent reports: JMB has sent a letter to the officer-in-charge of Harinakundu Police Station, threatening to blow up the local police office within next seven days if police continue to harass its cadres. Immediately after receiving the letter on Thursday afternoon, the OC filed a general diary (GD). Police defused a powerful bomb kept outside the office of the principal of Sirajganj Government College yesterday, reports UNB. The bomb was planted in a garden outside the office. Firefighters and policemen had the bomb defused at about 9:30am. Police also recovered another bomb at Kalachand Crossing in Mirpur area of the town yesterday. Our correspondent from Kushtia adds: Police recovered six bombs from village Bhatna in Daulatpur upazila yesterday morning. Locals spotted the bombs in an abandoned red polyethylene bag inside a hut of Insan Ali and immediately informed the police of those. Meanwhile, BDR recovered six powerful live bombs on Thursday night from Paka Narayanpur Char near Wahidpur border in Chapainawabganj, reports BDNEWS. A patrol team of BDR found the bombs dumped in a bag. Our correspondent from Pabna reports: JMB in a letter sent to the principal of Pabna Alia Madrasa Thursday threatened to destroy the institution and its dormitories by explosions. The hand-written letter reads, "Bombs have been planted to blow up the madrasa as it does not teach according to principles appropriate to Islam." A correspondent from Islamic University in Kushtia reports: JMB on Thursday threatened to bomb the Economics department at the university. Our correspondent from Rajshahi reports: Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Thursday night and Friday arrested nine people in different places of Rajshahi for suspected links to the militant outfit. Our Gaibandha correspondent adds: District police on Thursday arrested four suspected militants in Shaghata upazila. The arrestees were among the 54 JMB activists figuring on a list that was recovered from a house at Gobindaganj on Saturday. Three bomb squad members including a woman managed to flee the house before Saturday's raid. Police arrested seven people in different areas of Comilla on Thursday night, suspecting them to be members of JMB, reports UNB. BSS from Chittagong reports: Two suspected militants were detained in Patiya upazila of the district. Six more suspected JMB militants were held in Madaripur, Kushtia and Thakurgaon on Thursday night and Friday, reports BDNEWS. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/10/d51210011410.htm ..................................................................... Suspected JMB man held from Baitul Mukarram mosque Staff Correspondent A suspected militant was arrested from Baitul Mukarram mosque yesterday and two others were detained but later released. The arrestee, Ebaidullah, is suspected to be a member of the banned Islamist militant outfit JMB. The other two-- Alamgir and Shah Alam -- were released as they identified themselves as activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, witnesses said. Devotees at Juma offering prayers at the mosque caught the three at around 12:30pm as one of them started reciting 'Kalema Shahadat' loudly and the other two began searching something in their pockets, witnesses said. They handed all the three over to police. Ebaidullah carried a diary with him which contained a quotation saying, "We have to spread out our network sacrificing our lives," one devotee said. He was taken to Paltan Police Station and was being quizzed. Police also seized from him some leaflets and a book with a picture of former US president Bill Clinton on its cover. They however declined to disclose the contents of the leaflets. Approached by newsmen, Paltan police kept on the arrest. The officer-in-charge of the police station could not be met despite repeated attempts. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/10/d51210012015.htm ..................................................................... Bomb Threat Police on high alert in western zone railway EAM Asaduzzaman, Nilphamari Railway police at 12 thanas and 17 outposts under BR's Western Zone are on high alert and security have been tightened in all important railway installations under it following the recent arrest of two suspected JMB militants from two mail trains. But the security apparatus is too inadequate to the need, a high official of BR (Bangladesh Railway) told this correspondent yesterday. BR's western zone covers 22 districts but the manpower and equipment have not been increased to face the present situation. An urgent message has been sent to higher authorities in Dhaka from the GRP headquarters in Saidpur to increase the manpower and to supply sophisticated equipment to match the present situation, he said. Md Nazrul Islam, Superintendent of Rail Police in Saidpur, said security measures have been tightened to ensure safety. Hawkers are not allowed into stations and illegal makeshift shops have been evicted from railway compounds. He also admitted that there is acute shortage of police and equipment. The present strength is megre to ensure security in all railway compounds and installation under the western zone in the face of militants' threats. At least four platoons of police are needed only in Saidpur, he said. On Friday and Monday police arrested two suspected JMB militants including an woman from the Mohananda Express shuttling between Saidpur and Rajshahi and the Rocket Mail running between Saidpur and Khulna. They are Ambia Begum, 40, of Naldanga village in Natore district and Iqbal Hossain, 20, a student of Harina Kunda Koumi Madrasha in Jhenaidah district. Police also recovered explosive-like substances from their possession. The official said that after arrest of the two suspected militants, police are apprehending bomb attack in passenger trains also. Security has been tightened in all inter-city, mail and local trains, at rail way stations, Saidpur railway workshop and all other important installations. Passengers are being checked with metal detectors at important railway stations before they board trains. But this is inadequate because of lack of manpower, the officials said seeking anonymity. Passengers should be properly checked at all stations because the militants may choose small stations to board a train, he said. On November 27 morning, inter-city train Borendra Express running between Nilphamari and Rajshahi narrowly escaped an accident as the fish plate of the rail track was removed at Baniapara, about three kilometres from Saidpur railway station. An accident could be averted as some local people saw the track and hoisted a red flag. Sources in police and railway employees suspect that fish plates could have been removed by saboteurs because telephonic threats were made earlier to railway offices in the region to blow up trains and installations with bomb. On 11 November, one person identifying himself as a JMB activist made a telephone call to Saidpur railway hospital and threatened to blow up the hospital, important installations and passenger trains. Dr Ahsan Habib, Divisional Medical Officer (DMO) at the hospital while talking to newsmen acknowledged the threat. Saidpur, a railway town, also accommodates the largest railway workshop in the country. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/10/d51210070173.htm ...................................................................... Vol. 5 Num 547 Sat. December 10, 2005 Editorial This ruthless extremism must be stopped! Stronger govt action needed Never before in the last thirty-five years of independent Bangladesh has the nation felt so insecure as it does at the present moment. The bicycle ridden suicide bomber's bloody massacre of himself and his compatriots on a morbid ideological diet at Netrakona is a proof of how unrelenting militant missions can get. Given the ingenuity going into the methods of attack with surefire deadliness, the apprehension of more to come cannot be ruled out. More so, when all this is happening apparently despite unprecedented security precautions taken by the government, the media's reeling off of warning signals, the public being on self-alert, the arrested militants making tell-tale confessions, and the whole nation being vociferous in its expression of outrage. What are we to conclude from this absurd suicidal free-for-all and the outwitting nature of their operations? The overarching fact is the Frankenstein syndrome that is erupting in various forms. On the one hand, within the BNP there have been ministers and MPs named by their detractors to have been indulgent to extremist elements and their mentors. As if that was not enough, Jamaat's links to JMB, the outlawed outfit, spoken of by various sources raised the Frankenstein from within the ruling coalition. It can only be exorcised by an impregnable political will of the government itself. The second contributory factor is that while small fries have been hauled up, the big masterminds are at large calling the shots from behind with complete impunity topped off by an improvising flair. Some of them got let off as soon as they were tracked down. So long as the factors of masterminding, institutional backing and financial support base are not eliminated, the bombings will continue. After all this, we wonder how can there be the easy availability of explosive materials at the market-place as reported? There is one view that a country's reputation for a low level surveillance has a way of inviting the misadventure of trying techniques inspired and imported by extremist think-tanks abroad. We have to delve deep into the hypothesis. It is our firm belief that religious fanatics with dark agenda are getting a field-day, because the two major political forces -- BNP and Awami League -- are incorrigibly confrontational to each other. Nothing short of at least workable one-agenda unity between them can defeat militancy which is a threat to our very survival. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/10/d51210020123.htm ...................................................................... JMB threat continues Threat to blow up educational institutions, BB governor's house; blast injure 2 kids Star Report When seven people were killed in a suicide attack in Netrakona yesterday morning, two children were injured while playing with abandoned bombs in Nilphamari and several farmers narrowly escaped a bomb attack in Satkhira. A bomb exploded in a slum near Nilphamari Government College, leaving Raihan Akhter Moon, 7, son of Mosharraf Hossain, and Rezaul Islam, 6, son of Dulal Hossain, critically injured. Police recovered seven more bombs from the spot. The law enforcers also recovered two powerful bombs from a paddy field in Dinajpur, one from in front of a school in Chittagong and another from Sirajganj. The militants threatened to blow up the official residence of Bangladesh Bank governor in the capital, a number of educational institutions across the country and student hostels including Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall of Dhaka University. Meanwhile, the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) yesterday sent letters threatening to kill the deputy commissioners (DC) of Habiganj, Dinajpur and Panchagarh and five upazila nirbahi officers (UNO) in Dinajpur. THREAT TO GOVERNOR HOUSE An anonymous caller yesterday threatened to blow up the official residence of Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in Gulshan-2 area in Dhaka. The phone threat was received at the governor's residence at about 11:00am, police said. "Someone threatened over telephone to blow up the house," General Manager of the central bank's Security Management Division Maj (retd) MA Hossain told UNB. "I've taken necessary preparation," he said, adding that he informed high police officials, including the inspector general of police, and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) about it. Security patrol has been beefed up in the area, the police said. NILPHAMARI Raihan and Rezaul of College Para slum found eight bombs wrapped with blue tapes under a concrete bench on the bank of a pond while collecting dried leaves on the Nilphamari Government College premises, the principal of the college said. Taking the heavy things something "valuable", the two boys took the bombs to the slum and engaged in a fight over its share. During the scuffle, one bomb dropped on the ground and exploded with a loud bang, the locals said. The seriously injured boys were admitted to Nilphamari Sadar Adhunik Hospital, reports our Nilphamari correspondent. The huge bang triggered panic among the college students as well as the slum dwellers. Four students suffered minor injuries while trying to come out of classrooms in a hurry hearing the sound of explosion. The police recovered seven bombs from the site of explosion and searched the pond and its adjacent areas to see if there were more. Visiting the site, our correspondent found that pointed pebbles were used as splinters in the bomb. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Nilphamari Shoeb Ahmed told the press that it is too early to make any comment about the nature of the bomb. Security has been beefed up in the town. The JMB earlier threatened to blow up the Nilphamari Government Boys High School and Chilahati Merchant High School. SATKHIRA Our Khulna correspondent reports: Four farmers were harvesting in a field in Alaipur area under Tala upazila of the district at about 10:30am when some unidentified persons from a speedy motorbike hurled a bomb at them. The farmers escaped any harm as they ran for cover. The police said they suspected that the miscreants exploded the bomb from a long distance for experiment. CHITTAGONG A powerful bomb was recovered in front of the Railway Polo Ground High School near the Tiger Pass in the port city yesterday morning. Some passers-by saw the bomb around 100 yards off the school at about 9:15am and informed the police. At 12:20pm a Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) team defused the bomb by slashing the wire fixed on it and took it to their office. "The bomb has no timer device on it but its ingredients seem powerful," said a Rab official. SIRAJGANJ Locals found a live bomb in front of the Hazrat Fatematuzzohra Hafizia Qwami Women's Madrasa at around 6:00am yesterday. A team of Sirajganj police and firefighters defused the five-inch long bomb after one hour of hectic efforts and brought it to the Sirajganj Police Station. DINAJPUR The police recovered two powerful time-bombs from a paddy field in Bochaganj upazila in the district yesterday morning after locals found them, our Dinajpur correspondent said. The police later defused the bombs. Meanwhile, the JMB issued death threat through letters to the DC of Dinajpur and five UNOs in the district. The letter asked the DC to transfer the UNOs of Nabanganj, Birampur, Hakimpur, Chirirbandar and Phulbari upazilas within December 24, otherwise all UNO offices will be blown up within December 30. PANCHAGARH The JMB sent a threat letter to DC Azhar Ali, asking him to release all the JMB men arrested in the district within three days. The letter also said if any JMB men is arrested again, it will blow up the DC and if he fails to release the arrested JMB activists, they will shoot him down with AK47. SHERPUR Nalitabari police arrested a JMB member named Mohammad Wahiduzzaman alias Daksu, 42, of Bhati Baratia village under Nakli upazila of Kishoreganj district, from Garkanda area, said news agency BDNEWS. MEHERPUR The JMB yesterday threatened to blow up the Habiganj DC office if arresting the militants continues, said BDNEWS. Meanwhile, Meherpur police yesterday arrested JMB cadre Jamal Uddin of Sunamganj district on a Dhaka-bound bus from Meherpur. MAGURA The police on Wednesday night caught suspected JMB cadre Shawkat Ali, 22, son of Badrul Alam Bakul, at his residence in Aksi village of Magura sadar upazila. Shawkat was produced before a court yesterday with a seven-day remand prayer. NOAKHALI The police on Wednesday night held suspected JMB members Yusuf, 25, Abu Zafar, 27, Omar Faruq, 32, and Rezaul Karim, 27, from Begumganj. BOGRA The police arrested two JMB suspects--Hafez Mozammel Haq and Mamunur Rashid--in the town on Wednesday night and yesterday noon. Rashid claimed to be the imam of Barapukuria mosque in Dinajpur. TRAINING GROUND IN BOTANICAL GARDEN The JMB used the Botanical Garden in Dhaka as a ground for military training under the guise of physical exercise and morning walk, reports our Chittagong correspondent. The information came out during the interrogation of five JMB activists arrested from Dhaka on Wednesday night. Dhaka police held the five--Nazrul Islam Rubel alias Jewel, 26, Abdur Rahman, 45, Farhad alias Nasim, 28, Mohammad Hasan, 37, and Kamal Uddin, 40--following information provided by JMB men Akash and Mithu arrested in Chittagong. Quoting the five, police sources said Rubel, who hails from Jamalpur and is a martial art expert with black belt, used to train the JMB military wing activists under the guise of physical exercise in the Botanical Garden everyday in the morning and afternoon. They said Rubel, who was held from a mess at Pallabi in the capital, joined the JMB as a trainer about a year ago. Nasim is the younger brother of top JMB leader Jahirul Islam while Hasan is Nasim's brother-in-law, the police said. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THREATENED A JMB letter yesterday threatened the authorities of Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall of Dhaka University not to allow their students to sit around the hall at night. A letter from JMB and Harkatul Jihad yesterday asked the principal of Satkhira Women's College to introduce madrasa education in the institution and threatened to blow up the college hostel. Another letter sent to the headmistress of Bogra Government High School allegedly by JMB operations commander Mohammad Musa accused her of not paying any importance to Ismalic studies and asked her to close down the school activities. The JMB yesterday threatened to blow up the Pabna Alia Madrasa and its students' hostels with bombs. The threat gripped the students and teachers with panic. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d5120901022.htm ..................................................................... Vol. 5 Num 546 Fri. December 09, 2005 Anti-Jamaat feeling runs high in BNP over militancy Staff Correspondent Anti-Jamaat sentiment is increasing inside the ruling BNP, posing a threat to the party chain of command, following the recent spate of bomb blasts and suicide attacks in which many believe Jamaat-e-Islami has links. The number of leaders, including MPs and central executive committee members, who are worried about the party's coalition with Jamaat, is over 50, said a reliable source in the BNP. The BNP policymakers are apparently anxious about this development. Three members of the party standing committee told The Daily Star that the BNP must consider contesting the next general elections on its own, otherwise the party may have to face rebellion. BNP standing committee members Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed and KM Obaidur Rahman, and whip Ashraf Hossain have also voiced their suspicion of Jamaat link to militancy. Some 25 districts including Comilla, Chittagong, Jessore, Satkhira, Magura, Kushtia, Jhenidah, Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon were considered Jamaat vote banks. But the scenario has changed a lot over the last four years due to bickering of the BNP at these places with the Jamaat. However, a source close to BNP Chairperson and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said the PM is not going to change her position on Jamaat. Although she is aware of the dissent concerning Jamaat in the party, she is determined to contest the next election with them as a partner. A BNP standing committee member, on condition of anonymity, said the party's vote calculation taking Jamaat along with it might very well result in disillusionment. "People may not like the same old record again and again," he said, referring to the Dinajpur-1 by-election as a wake-up call for the BNP. Four-party alliance candidate and Jamaat leader Aftabuddin Mollah suffered a humiliating defeat in the seat that had been won by another Jamaat leader in 2001. Rebel Jatiya Party (Ershad) leader Manoranjan Shil Gopal won the election as an independent candidate. Health Minister and standing committee member Khandoker Mosharraf Hossain told The Daily Star, "Those who want to create division in the party talking of Jamaat, are speaking against the party decision to include Jamaat in the coalition. So, if one still talks against Jamaat, s/he is talking on personal equation," he said. "If the party chooses to participate in the election with Jamaat, there is no scope to think otherwise. Those who want to break the four-party alliance are talking in line with the Awami League that wants to break the coalition," he added. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d5120901044.htm ...................................................................... Hindu bomber in JMB a new dimension: Babar Staff Correspondent State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar yesterday said the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) added a new dimension by engaging members of minority community in its suicide squad. "We witness the emergence of a Hindu militant who also died in the blast," Babar told BBC Bangla Service yesterday, referring to the Netrakona suicide bomber as Yadav Biswas. Wire was tied around his whole body and the evidence of the bombings showed he was a JMB man and Hindu, said the minister, adding, "The JMB has been speaking about an ideology. But now it is a new dimension. We need to look into it well." At a press briefing at the home ministry's conference room yesterday, Home Ministry Additional Secretary Md Mohsin also said a suicide bomber named Yadav Biswas conducted the bomb attack in Netrakona yesterday morning. While the suicide bomb attacks have so far been directed mainly to the judges and lawyers, now the criminals have attacked the common people, Chief of the ministry's Media Cell Khandakar Manirul Alam said. The cycle repairing shop where the suspected suicide bomber worked has confirmed his name as Yadav Biswas, he added. He informed newsmen that since the August 17 countrywide bomb blasts 181 cases have been lodged in connection with bomb attacks, and charge sheet of 72 cases and final investigation report (FIR) of six of them have been submitted. About 700 suspects have been netted and 103 cases are still under investigation, he said. Meanwhile, Yadav Biswas' elder brother Biplob told our correspondent that Yadav went to the spot to see a bomb that was found there earlier. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d5120901085.htm .................................................................... Threat to blow up schools if assembly sings national anthem Unb, Shariyatpur Banned Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has threatened to blow up at least five schools in Sadar upazila, if the school authorities raise the national flag and the students sing the national anthem at school assembly. In the letters sent to the schools on December 7, the sender who identified himself as JMB's sector-63 Director Maulana A Rouf warned the authorities that JMB would blow up the schools within January 1, 2006 if they hoist the national flag or sing the national anthem. Claiming that the national anthem is a "Hindu song", the letter also stated that the national flag of Bangladesh belongs to the separatists. JMB men with bombs are inside the schools and would detonate the bombs any moment, the letter added. The school authorities informed the local administration and the local police after receiving the letters. The incident triggered panic among the teachers, students and guardians. http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d51209012115.htm .................................................................... JMB got Guevara wrong Ashish Ahsan, Uttara , Dhaka 1230 Last century, Che Guevara laid out tactics of an armed insurgency. He identified three factors essential to start with: 1. Public discontent on existing establishment of power 2. Popular belief that force is the only way to change 3. A popular cause to fight for According to Guevara, at the beginning, a small secret group will start hit and run attacks against symbols of establishments: police, army, administrative body etc. Since ordinary people hate the establishment, they will appreciate its harassment. This appreciation will increase the popularity of the movement until it reaches the critical mass. In Bangladesh, apparently JMB has made a mix of Guevara tactics and religious zeal. They started attacking the establishments like judicial courts. But they might not have studied Guevara to the fullest. Che particularly emphasized on popularity, because in the long haul insurgents have to depend on people for their food, money, and shelter. And popularity is exactly what JMB is not getting by blasting bombs. Public discontent is here, but it is not against the system; rather it is a frustration against people who are running it. Second and third factors of Guevara do not exist at all. As for the third factor, their tactics are self defeating to their cause of establishing Islam. The underlying principle of the tactic they borrowed from their sworn enemies--the communists, that small number of people can be sacrificed to achieve good for greater mass, is fundamentally against the teachings of Islam. Islam values every life. It is written in the Holy Koran that killing one person is like killing the whole humanity. JMB will be able to convince only a few gullible people. The catch is, it takes only a few people to wreck havoc. That is why their doomed prospect is no reason for complacency; rather they need immediate and active confronting. The musts are continuous police operations not allowing them to rest and regroup, and public vigilance. It is also important to bring them to book as per the laws of the country, through a judicial system they are fighting against. If we can't show our confidence in our system, it will only aid their cause. In the long run, Madrassah education needs to be modernised and regulated, and mosques should be monitored to ensure they are not hijacked by religious zealots http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/09/d51209110174.htm ..................................................................... ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/g0CDCD/tzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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