Does ‘terrorism’ have a future in Bangladesh?

[Banglar Bir]

Terrorist activities decreases worldwide, increases in Bangladesh: US State Dept
Azzam Khan, July 22, 2017

Bangladesh experienced a significant increase in terrorist activity in 2016, according to the US State Department’s annual ‘Country Report on Terrorism-2016’, released in Washington on Wednesday (19 July).

The report said that both al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and ISIS claimed responsibility for a significant number of the attacks that took place in Bangladesh, though the government of Bangladesh tended to attribute extremist violence to the political opposition and local militants.

“ISIS claimed responsibility for 18 attacks in Bangladesh in 2016, the most significant being the attack on July 1 on the Holey Artisan Bakery, an upscale restaurant in the diplomatic enclave frequented by the expatriate community,” the report stated. It said that the five Bangladeshi attackers killed 20 hostages and two police officers using guns, explosives, and sharp weapons. The hostages were mostly foreigners, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one U.S. citizen, one Indian, and two Bangladeshis.

The report said that AQIS claimed responsibility for two attacks in 2016. One was the 6 April murder of an online Bangladeshi activist and the other was the 25 April murder of a U.S. embassy local employee and his friend. In both cases, the assailants used machetes. Bangladesh witnesses several other small-scale attacks for which there were no public claims of responsibility, including the 7 July bomb blast at an Eid-gathering in Sholakia that killed four people – including two police officers – and injured seven.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security

“Bangladesh’s criminal justice system is in the process of fully implementing the Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (ATA) as amended in 2012 and 2013,” stated the state department report, adding that, “although Bangladesh’s ATA does not outlaw recruitment and travel in furtherance of terrorism, the broad language of the ATA provides several mechanisms by which Bangladesh can implement UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2178 (2014), related to addressing the foreign terrorist fighter threat.”

Pointing to cooperation with the US regarding anti-terrorism efforts, the report stated that Bangladesh had cooperated with the US to further strengthen control of its borders and land, sea, and air ports of entry. It also cooperated with the US to further strengthen control of its borders and land, sea, and air ports of entry.

The international community had, in the meantime, expressed concern about Bangladesh’s lack of aviation security. On June 28, Germany joined the United Kingdom and Australia in banning direct cargo shipments from Bangladesh due to security concerns.

While Bangladesh shares law enforcement information with INTERPOL, it does not have a dedicated terrorist watch list. It does not have an interactive advanced passenger information system. The US Department of State is working with Bangladesh to assist in developing a screening infrastructure to better secure its borders.

Referring to the Bangladesh government’s efforts to counter terrorism, the report stated that the newly-formed Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTCU) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police began operating in February and gained national mandate in August. On February 19-20, the CTTCU arrested two suspected members of the local terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which, according to the report, is affiliated with AQIS, leading to the discovery and destruction of a bomb-making factory.

Following the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, law enforcement have captured or killed numerous suspected militants in several raids. These include the 26 July raid in the Kalyanpur neighborhood of Dhaka, where police killed nine suspected militants. Police reported recovering ISIS paraphernalia and explosives and other weapons on site. On 27 August, police reported killing ISIS’s operational head in Bangladesh, Tamim Chowdhury, in a raid in Narayanganj. The CTTCU and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted significant raids on September 10 in Azimpur and October 8 in Gazipur, directed at suspected members who reportedly have links to ISIS.

However, there are questions concerning these raids on the so-called militant dens and the killing of the militants in so-called crossfire. The report indicates as much, stating,, “Observers believe at least some of the raids are staged by law enforcement, particularly the RAB.”

As part of the US state department’s anti-terrorism assistance program, Bangladesh’s law enforcement officers have received training in counter-terrorism. The US Department of Justice also provided Bangladesh with prosecutorial skills training, and community policing support in targeted areas of the country. U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) continued security and stability engagements with a number of Bangladesh security forces – including the Bangladesh Coast Guard, Bangladesh Navy Special Warfare and Diving Salvage (SWADS) unit, the Bangladesh Army 1st Para Commando Battalion, and the Border Guards Bangladesh.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism
The Bangladesh is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. The Bangladesh Bank (the central bank) and the BFIU lead the government’s efforts to comply with the international anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards and international sanctions regimes.

Despite all this, the report stated that Bangladesh’s “effectiveness in implementing regulations requires significant improvement.” An APG report found that the main terrorist finance threat to Bangladesh is from domestic groups that operate using small-scale funding derived through micro-financing methods.

“The judicial sector is under-resourced for carrying out prosecutions and obtaining convictions and the banking and non-banking sectors require further implementation of preventative measures such as customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reports,” said the US state department report.

Countering Violent Extremism
In 2016, Bangladesh organizations continued cooperative activities through the Community Support Mechanism (CSM) under the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), a public-private global fund to support local, grassroots efforts to counter violent extremism, said the report.

The report said that the Bangladesh police are engaging religious leaders in the fight against violent extremism by helping to counter militant propaganda with appropriate scripture-based messages and engaging imams to speak to surrendered militants to explain that the Quran does not support terrorist violence.

Law enforcement authorities are working with local universities to identify missing students and to curb radicalization of university students. Local research institutions, including private think tanks and both public and private universities, have begun to engage in CVE-related research, said the report.

Terrorism decrease worldwide, increases in Bangladesh
While terrorist activities have increased considerably in Bangladesh, there has been a worldwide decrease in terrorism. The US state department report said that the total number of terrorist attacks in 2016 decreased by 9 percent and total deaths due to terrorist attacks decreased by 13 percent compared to 2015.

The report went on to say that terrorist-related violence in Pakistan declined for the second straight year in 2016. It said, counter-terrorism pressure from Afghan-U.S. Forces removed hundreds of fighters from the battlefield and restricted the militant groups’ ability to control territory.

It was only in Bangladesh that, according to the report, there has been a significant increase in terrorist activity in 2016.

http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=10&date=0#Tid=14411

 

[Banglar Bir]

সংবাদ >> জাতীয়
Explosives entering Sylhet from India.
ভারত থেকে বোমা তৈরির বিস্ফোরক আসছে সিলেটে
26 Jul, 2017

সিলেট সীমান্ত দিয়ে ভারত থেকে আসছে বিস্ফোরক। হাত বদল হয়ে শক্তিশালী এসব বিস্ফোরক চলে যাচ্ছে জঙ্গিদের কাছে। আর নাশকতার কাজে জঙ্গিরা ব্যবহার করছে এসব বিস্ফোরক। সিলেটে গত সোমবার রাতে বিস্ফোরকের এমন একটি চালান র‌্যাবের হাতে আটকের পর এমন তথ্য বেরিয়ে এসেছে।

জানা যায়, সিলেট বিভাগের তিনদিকই হচ্ছে ভারত বেষ্টিত। এর মধ্যে সিলেট জেলার জৈন্তাপুর, কোম্পানীগঞ্জ, গোয়াইনঘাট এবং সুনামগঞ্জের ছাতক ও দোয়ারাবাজার উপজেলার সীমান্তের ওপারে ভারতের বেশ কয়েকটি কয়লা ও চুনাপাথর খনি রয়েছে। এসব খনি থেকে কয়লা ও পাথর উত্তোলনে শক্তিশালী বিস্ফোরক ব্যবহার করা হয়। বিস্ফোরণের মাধ্যমে কয়লা ও চুনাপাথর ভেঙে পরে সেগুলো উপরে তুলে আনা হয়।

সূত্র জানায়, এসব বিস্ফোরকের মধ্যে হাই এক্সপ্লোসিভ পাওয়ার জেল ও ইলেকট্রিক ডেটোনেটর কয়লা ও পাথর খনি থেকে চোরাই পথে বাংলাদেশে নিয়ে আসা হয়। একাজে সিলেট ও সুনামগঞ্জের একাধিক চক্র সক্রিয় রয়েছে। এসব বিস্ফোরক দেশের ভেতর ঢুকে কয়েকবার হাত বদল হয়ে চলে যায় জঙ্গি ও নাশকতাকারী চক্রের হাতে। পরে সেগুলো কাজে লাগিয়ে তৈরি করা হয় আরো শক্তিশালী বিস্ফোরক। যা জঙ্গি ও সন্ত্রাসী চক্র তাদের নাশকতার কাজে ব্যবহার করে থাকে।

সীমান্ত দিয়ে ভারত থেকে আসা বিস্ফোরকের এরকম একটি চালান গত সোমবার রাতে জৈন্তাপুর উপজেলার দরবস্ত ইউনিয়নের চতুল বাজার এলাকায় ধরা পড়ে র‌্যাবের অভিযানে। ওই চালানে ছিল ৩০টি হাই এক্সপ্লোসিভ পাওয়ার জেল ও ৩০টি ইলেকট্রিক ডেটোনেটর।

মঙ্গলবার র‌্যাব-৯ এর সদর দফতরে আয়োজিত এক সংবাদ সম্মেলনে অধিনায়ক লে. কর্ণেল আলী হায়দার আজাদ আহমেদ জানান, বিস্ফোরকের এই চালানটি ভারতের মেঘালয় রাজ্যের লাটুম্বাই কয়লা খনি থেকে এসেছে। কয়লা খনির কিছু অসাধু কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের মাধ্যমে সীমান্তের দুর্গম এলাকা দিয়ে কয়েকবার হাত বদল হয়ে এই বিস্ফোরকগুলো বাংলাদেশে প্রবেশ করে। এই বিস্ফোরকগুলো এতোই শক্তিশালী যে, এগুলো দিয়ে তিনতলা অন্তত তিনটি ভবন উড়িয়ে দেয়া সম্ভব।

ওই র‌্যাব কর্মকর্তা আরও জানান, সিলেটের দক্ষিণ সুরমার আতিয়া মহলে জঙ্গি আস্তানায় যেসব বিস্ফোরক পাওয়া গেছে তার সঙ্গে জৈন্তাপুর থেকে উদ্ধারকৃত বিস্ফোরকের হুবহু মিল রয়েছে। এতে ধারণা করা হচ্ছে-ভারত থেকে আসা বিস্ফোরকগুলো জঙ্গিদের হাতে যাচ্ছে। সিলেট ছাড়াও দেশের বিভিন্ন স্থানে জঙ্গি ও সন্ত্রাসীরা তাদের নাশকতার কাজে এসব বিস্ফোরক ব্যবহার করছে বলে ধারণা করছেন এই র‌্যাব কর্মকর্তা।

র‌্যাব-৯ অধিনায়ক জানান, গত এপ্রিল মাসে সুনামগঞ্জের দোয়ারাবাজার সীমান্ত দিয়ে আসা বিস্ফোরকের আরও একটি চালান আটক করা হয়েছিল। ওই চালানের বিস্ফোরকগুলোও ভারতের কয়লা খনি থেকে এসেছিল। তাই ধারণা করা হচ্ছে সিলেটের যেসব সীমান্তের ওপারে ভারতের কয়লা ও চুনাপাথর খনি রয়েছে সেসব সীমান্ত দিয়ে বাংলাদেশে বিস্ফোরক আসতে পারে।

র‌্যাব কর্মকর্তা বলেন, সীমান্ত দিয়ে যাতে কোন বিস্ফোরক ঢুকতে না পারে সেজন্য এখন থেকে র‌্যাবের নজরদারি আরও বাড়ানো হবে। এছাড়া বিস্ফোরক চোরাচালানের সঙ্গে জড়িত পুরো গ্রুপকে আটক করতে র‌্যাবের অভিযান অব্যাহত থাকবে বলে জানান তিনি।

বিডি প্রতিদিন
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...etail/detail/200/325393&num=1&strip=1&vwsrc=0

 

[Banglar Bir]

Click the link in Facebook to watch this interview

https://www.facebook.com/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Escaped JMB leader now a major headache for Bangladesh, India

• Nuruzzaman Labu
• Published at 05:27 PM August 03, 2017
• Last updated at 09:03 PM August 03, 2017

The escaped convict is now operating the terrorist group JMB from India, police believe
Salahuddin alias Salehin, the current chief of the terrorist group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is a source of major headache for law enforcement in both Bangladesh and India.

Hijacked out of a prison van in Trishal, Mymensingh in 2014, Salahuddin has been out of the law enforcement’s reach, despite their success in arresting many top terrorists in recent times.

Investigators in Bangladesh believe he is hiding somewhere in India. The police Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit officials have discussed him with the Indian Special Task Force and the National Intelligence Agency that recently visited Dhaka.

A CTTC officer said Indian intelligence was also somewhat bothered about Salahuddin. They fear that if he is not caught, he might be able to reinvigorate the JMB.

Salahuddin gave an interview on the terrorist YouTube channel Sahm Al Hind on July 13 that JMB is reorganising with three main objectives: Dawah or motivation, training and Kital or armed combat. This implies that JMB is trying to recruit new members.

Police wanted poster for Salahuddin

CTTC Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Islam Khan said: “Of course Salahuddin is one of our targets. After escaping from the prison van, he has been trying to reorganise the group. According to our information, he is in India. We have informed the Indian side. They are also looking for him.

“Salahuddin is a veteran JMB leader. He will not hide quietly. It is only natural that he will try to regroup. But it will take him a long time to reorganise because most of their people are in jail and many top leaders have been hanged.”

Pushed by law enforcement here, many JMB leaders moved into India, from where they ran their operations here. They also built up a small following there and eventually launched a local operation. Indian authorities were mostly ignorant of this, but were jolted into action by the 2014 Khagragarh explosion in West Bengal’s Burdwan.

Only eight months before that, militants attacked a prison van in Trishal and hijacked three terrorists. One of them was later killed by police. Salahuddin is one of the other two. The other is another old top leader of JMB, Jahidul Islam alias Sumon alias Harun alias Kamrul, who is known widely as Boma Mizan for being an explosives expert.

Bangladesh police have a bounty of Tk5 lakh on their heads.

Police wanted poster for Salahuddin

A CTTC official said: “Most of the JMB top leaders are in jail and some have been hanged for their crimes. One of the few who are outside include this Salahuddin, also known as Sohel, Sajib and Towhid. He has been with JMB since its inception. He worked with the founder Shaykh Abdur Rahman for a long time.

“So there are some concerns about him. He is known to be a strong motivational speaker who can indoctrinate people quickly. He is also very dedicated.”

CTTC officials say Indian intelligence has learned that the bombs being made in Khagragarh were intended for Bangladesh.

What JMB is planning now
According to Salahuddin’s interview in Sahm Al Hind, the group believes in armed combat to establish Islam.

“Our target is to attain heaven by ousting Shirk (idolatry) on Allah’s domain through Kital as prescribed by Allah, and establishing Tauheed (monotheism) or Allah’s law,” he said.

“We are executing three work plans: Dawah or motivation, training and Kital or armed combat.

“Our main targets are the Aimmatul Kufr (leaders of Kufr). If their heads are smashed, the other parts will fall apart by themselves,” he added.

He said that the group thought that it was important in combat to consider costs and benefits.

“Our plan is to prioritise targets that bring effective and strong results.”

He said the group was independent of the jihads that were façades for implementing “the agendas of Taghuti intelligence agencies, and wars for expanding territory based on naitonalism.”

Asked about Ghazwa tul Hind (a set of Hadeeth which supposedly point to the conquest of the subcontinent by Muslims), he said:

“The same way that Mujahids in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and North African countries are fighting in jihads through Hizrat, we too are advancing our plan to establish Khilafah in Hindusthan (India).”

CTTC Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Saiful Islam said: “We are looking for Salahuddin and his associate Boma Mizan.”

Who is Salahuddin?
Born January 25, 1980 in Madhabpasha, Narayanganj, Salahuddin was a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, in his student life. He was appointed to Shibir’s Shathi rank in class 10 in 1997. The same year he was admitted to Sylhet Polytechnical Institute and then transferred to Dhaka Polytechnical from where passed the diploma in civil engineering.

He was arrested in April 2006 from Chittagong’s Pahartali by RAB. Records of his interrogation reveals that in 1998, he was introduced to two persons named Nasrullah and Sanaullah by his brother Abdul Matin at Mohammadia Arabia Madrasa in Dhaka’s Jatrabari. Those men introduced him to Shaykh Abdur Rahman and the same year he began travelling with him across the country to mobilise terrorist activities. In late 1999, he was appointed a member of JMB’s first Shura committee along with Rakib Hasan alias Mahfuz, Shehed Bin Hafiz and Rana.

JMB began officially in 2001. Salahuddin was given death sentence in a murder case and the bombing of Mymensingh court case in 2007.

This article was first published on Bangla Tribune
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...b-leader-now-major-headache-bangladesh-india/