Lingering
Darkness
S.
Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On March
25, 2017, six people, including two Policemen, were killed
and 43 were injured in two powerful bomb explosions in
Sylhet city of Sylhet District.
On March
24, 2017, a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in
front of the Shahjalal International Airport intersection
in the capital, Dhaka. As the intersection is some distance
from the airport security area, only the attacker was
killed and there was no other casualty. Two hours after
the incident, Islamic State (IS, formerly, Islamic State
of Iraq and al Sham, also Daesh) took credit for the attack
through its Arabic Amaq News.
On March
17, 2017, a suspected suicide bomber sneaked into a Rapid
Action Battalion (RAB) barrack and blew himself up in
the Ashkona area of Dhaka city. Two RAB personnel suffered
splinter injuries in the attack. According to reports,
Daesh claimed credit for the attack.
On March
7, 2017, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
terrorists attacked a Police team during a routine check
of a bus on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Comilla District.
Two attackers Jasim (20) and Hasan (20) were arrested.
Four crude bombs and a sharp knife were recovered from
their possession.
On March
6, 2017, two crude bombs were hurled at a prison van carrying
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B)
chief Mufti Hannan and some of his associates at Tongi
towns in Gazipur District. The bombs went off on the road
missing the target. Police escorting the prison van arrested
two suspects from the spot and recovered a bag containing
two petrol bombs, two stun grenades, two crude bombs and
two machetes.
On February
28, 2017, two Policemen were injured as JMB militants
stabbed them in Bujruk Rajarampur village of Rajshahi
District. Police arrested one suspected attacker Aminul
Islam from the spot.
Despite
major Government successes against Islamist groups in
Bangladesh, such attacks have persisted. There have been
several operations launched against extremists in the
recent past, including:
On March
26, 2017, two militants were killed in an Army-led operation
codenamed ‘Operation Twilight’, inside a terror den at
Atia Mahal in Sylhet city.
On March
16, 2017, five persons, including a toddler, were killed
in a Police raid on a Neo-JMB den at a two-storey building
at Sitakunda in Chittagong District. Police recovered
10 bombs, three suicide vests and explosive substances
adequate to make 40 to 50 powerful bombs.
On March
16, 2017, Tajul Islam Mahmud aka Mama Hujur (46),
a ‘regional commander’ of HuJI-B, was killed during a
gunfight with the Police in the Kuti Chowmuhani area of
Brahmanbaria District. Three Policemen were also injured
in the incident. Police recovered 25 improvised bombs,
five pipe guns, four bullets and five locally made sharp
weapons on site.
On March
2, 2017, Aminur Islam aka Alam (23), the ‘military
chief’ of Neo-JMB’s Rajshahi Divisional unit, was killed
in a gunfight with the Police at Jamnagar village in the
Bogra District. Police recovered a pistol, three rounds
of bullets and two magazines from him.
On February
14, 2017, Abu Musa alias Abujar alias Abu
Talha alias Robin alias Samiul (32), a ‘regional
coordinator’ of JMB was killed in a gunfight with Police
at Kahalu in Bogra District. Police recovered a pistol,
three bullets and several sharp weapons after the encounter.
On January
6, 2017, two Neo-JMB leaders – Nurul Islam Marzan, who
coordinated the Gulshan
cafe attack, and Saddam Hossain aka
Rahul, who led Neo-JMB activities in the Northern
Region – were killed in a gunfight with the Police in
Dhaka city. Police recovered a pistol, three bullets and
a knife from them.
Since the
beginning of 2017, according to partial data collected
by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP),
14 Islamist terrorists have been killed and another 311
arrested across Bangladesh. Prominent among those arrested
were JMB ‘regional commanders’ Fazlur Rahman Taher aka
Raj (23) and Mostafizur Rahman Shahin (41); Neo-JMB
‘IT chief’ Ashfaq-e-Azam Apel; and Neo-JMB ‘spiritual
leader’ Maulana Abul Kashem (data till March 26, 2017).
Claiming
significant transformations that her Government had engineered,
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed declared, on February
28, 2017, "Huge mass awareness has been created against
militancy and terrorism due to the Government's ongoing
campaign against these social menaces." Further,
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal reiterated, on March
7, 2017, that the ‘militancy problem’ remained under control
as a result of continuing people-police joint efforts,
adding, "We are determined to free the country from
the curse of militancy and terrorism."
Continuing
these efforts, the Government banned Ansar
al-Islam
(Defenders of Islam), the
Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
(AQIS), on March 5, 2017, as its activities constituted
a threat to public security. The ban circular observed
that the militant organization’s activities went against
peace and order in the country. The radical group was
earlier known as Ansarullah
Bangla Team
(ABT, Volunteer of Allah Bangla Team),
which was banned on May 25, 2015, for the killing of several
secular writers, bloggers and online and gay rights activists
critical of religious bigotry. Ansar al-Islam is
the seventh extremist formation, whose activities have
so far been banned in Bangladesh. The six other groups
already banned are JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh
(JMJB), HUJI-B, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, ABT and Shahadat-e-Al
Hikma. Three other extremist outfits – Dawat-e-Islam,
Allar Dal and Harkat-e-Islam Al Jihad – are also reportedly
under scrutiny of the Home Ministry for a possible ban.
On March
9, 2017, Police officials asserted that the prison van
attack in Gazipur District on March 6 and the attack on
a Police team during a routine check of a bus in Comilla
District on March 7 indicated that Neo-JMB was reforming
outside Dhaka city. Separately, Chittagong Range Deputy
Inspector General (DIG) Mohamad Shafiqul Islam stated,
on March 16, 2017, “Neo-JMB might be planning to attack
foreigners who are employed in development projects in
Chittagong region. Besides, they had plans to carry out
attacks on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.” An official
of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC)
unit added, on March 17, 2017, “Neo-JMB militants have
built their hideouts in Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Rangamati
Districts, apart from Chittagong District. The militants
have set up dens in those areas as it would help their
safe movement through the sea. A plan to recruit Rohingyas
could be another reason.”
Another
disturbing trend in Bangladesh is the uptick in the participation
of female jihadists, as Humayun Kabir, Deputy Inspector
General (DIG) Crime Management at Police Headquarters
remarked, on March 22, 2017, “Militants now cannot carry
out their activities in an organized way as they’ve got
scattered due to repeated crackdowns by Police and RAB.
So, they’re now desperate and preferring to conduct suicide
attacks. As they’re getting alienated from their own groups,
the militants are now trying to motivate their family
members to indulge in militant activities.” The Bangladeshi
authorities discovered the first female unit in the Neo-JMB
on July 21, 2016, after the arrest of Neo-JMB ‘commander
for the southern region’ Mahmudul Hassan Tanvir. On July
24, 2016, Police arrested four militants of the JMB female
wing from a house in the Mohalla area of Sirajganj District.
Similarly, RAB arrested four female JMB militants, including
the ‘adviser’ of its women’s unit, from Dhaka city on
August 15, 2016. Another four female members of JMB’s
‘suicide squad’ were arrested at Boroitola village in
Sirajganj District on September 5, 2016. Significantly,
Bangladesh recorded its first female suicide bombing during
a Police raid on a JMB den at Ashkona in Dhaka city on
December 24, 2016. Further, on March 16, 2017, another
female suicide bombing occurred in a Police raid on a
Neo-JMB den at a two-storey building at Sitakunda in Chittagong
District.
Calling
upon people to extend their support to the Government
to build Bangladesh as a peaceful nation, Prime Minister
Hasina stated, on March 17, 2017, that the people's united
efforts can enable the nation to combat militancy and
terrorism. Reiterating the Government's tough stance,
Hasina warned, on March 18, 2017, "There will be
no place for militancy and terrorism on Bangladesh soil...
the stern stance that we've taken against it will continue.
You have to remain vigillant so that no one of your children
can get involved in militancy and terrorism."
Separately,
Inspector General of Police (IGP) A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque
announced, on March 18, 2017, “We have already identified
masterminds of extremists and their networks alongside
the Neo-JMB. The law enforcement agencies are working
to arrest militants and their close associates. The government
under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina is determined to root out terrorism and extremism
from the country alongside preventing other crimes with
sincere efforts.”
Sheikh
Hasina’s unrelenting
response to Islamist groups has been
remarkable, and Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies
have neutralized a number of hardcore terrorists. Nevertheless,
significant risks persist, as the terrorist groups continue
to attack law enforcement agencies and personnel. Moreover,
the weapons and resources recovered during recent raids
suggest that there are significant flows of resources
to these groups. The involvement of women as combatants
can also have grave implications, as most women in societies
like Bangladesh depend on informal sources and traditional
institutions like madrassas for guidance and religious
knowledge. Bangladesh has taken giant strides against
terrorism and Islamist extremism, but the struggle is
far from over.
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