Detectives in Dhaka last night arrested three Pakistani militants who, the law enforcers say, flew in to reinvigorate Islamist militant movement here in Bangladesh. The three -- aged between 25 and 50 -- had a laptop containing manuals on bomb making and operating firearms with them when they were detained in front of Shilpakala Academy at Segunbagicha around 11:30pm.
Osman, Mehmud and Fakhrul are members of banned militant outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of police, at a press briefing at DB headquarters on Minto Road in the capital.
“These Pakistani citizens were recruited into the TTP and were given training to take part in Afghanistan war,” said Monirul. “Afterwards, they came to Bangladesh to participate in jihad (war for religious cause),” he added.
More can be known about the people who sheltered them here and about their political motives after these militants are interrogated, the DB joint commissioner said. TTP is the leading group of Islamist militants operating in Pakistan to put up resistance against the state and to enforce their interpretation of shariah.
Led by Maulana Fazlullah, TTP gained notoriety for a failed vehicle bomb attack in Times Square, New York City, on May 1, 2010. On December 20, 2013, the banned militant outfit threatened to attack Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad for execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah.
Even yesterday, TTP operatives carried out a vehicle-bomb attack in North Waziristan that killed 20 soldiers and wounded at least 30.
Published: 12:53 pm Monday, January 20, 2014
3 TTP militants held in Dhaka | The Pakistanis flew in to reenergise local militants, say police
