Islamist Terrorism: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2012

Four Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) activists were arrested while trying to hold a secret meeting at a local student hostel near Court Toli Islami Adorsha Madrasa at Patgram town in Lalmonirhat District on March 3, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are identified as Mithu Rana (18), Alamgir Kabir (18), Abdur Rakib (16), and Moslem Uddin a class seven student of Patgram Islami Adorsha Madrasa. Police also seized 103 jihadi books from their possession. Read less...

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two leaders and a member of the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), identified as Mohammad Asaduzzaman alias Hazari, ‘chief’ of JMB Khulna divisional unit and also a Majlish-e-Shura committee member, Mohammad Wahab, ‘head’ of JMB Savar zone and JMB member Anwar Hossain from different parts of Dhaka City on March 5, reports Daily Star. RAB also seized several JMB publications and leaflets from the possession of the arrestees. Asaduzzaman was arrested from Sayedabad, Wahab from Gabtoli while Anwar was arrested from Abdullahpur in Uttara area of the city. Commander Mohammad Sohail, Director of RAB's Media and Legal Wing said all three were fugitives in the series bomb attack cases of 2005. Read less...

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 8, accused opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia of receiving money from Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) ahead of 1991 general elections of Bangladesh, reports thenews.com.pk. Hasina’s comments came four days after the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Khaleej Times reported that ISI paid Zia Rs 500 million ahead of the 1991 elections “to help her in polls against Hasina Wajid’s (Wajed’s) Awami League generally perceived by Pakistan’s security establishment as pro-India”. Read less...

Hasina further alleged that after accepting the money Khaleda became obligated to defend perpetrators of 1971 Liberation War time “crimes against humanity” that is why she is now desperately trying to obstruct the War Crime (WC) trial. Read less...

Five cadres of banned outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) were arrested from two separate spots in Dhaka and Sylhet (Sylhet District) cities respectively on March 9, reports Daily Star. Police arrested three cadres who were trying to hold a rally before Monowara Jame Mosque in Dhaka City’s Katabon area. Two of the arrestees, Nur-e-alam Mohammad Shihab Uddin and Abdul Matin, are students of Dhaka University while the third one, Abdul Matin, is a student of Bangladesh Institute of Glass and Ceramic in Tejgaon (Dhaka). Read less...

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two HuT cadres, identified as Jewel Ahmed and Atique Sarfaraj, students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, distributing the outfit's leaflets before Sheikhghat Boro Mosque in Sylhet city after Friday prayer. Read less...

Police arrested four activists of Islamist outfit Ahle Hadith, identified as Badrul Aziz (36), Mehedi Hasan (20), Abdullah (27) and Azhar Ali (26) along with CDs at Darshana Bazar under Damurhuda sub-district in Chuadanga District on March 10, reports Daily Star. Later, the four were handed over to Damurhuda Police Station. Read less...

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 10 cadres of banned outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) from Mohakhali area in Dhaka City on March 10, reports The Daily Star. After a tip-off, the elite RAB force conducted a raid near IPH Jam-e-Mosque in Mohakhali area around 2:30am and arrested the 10 cadres. Searching residences of three of the arrested, the officers recovered books, leaflets, banners and copies of constitutions of the Islamist organisation, RAB-1 officers said. Read less...

Ten members of the banned outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) were placed on a two-day remand each on March 11, in a case on charge of creating anarchy across the country. The detainees who were earlier arrested on March 10 are Zayeem Abdullah, his brother Nayeem Abdullah, Robin Miah, Sohel Rana, Parvez Sikder, Towfiq Ashraf, Zahid Hasan, Mahmudul Alam Anik, Nurul Amin Emon and Tanveer Hossain. Read less...

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel recovered 39 petrol bombs from North Mourail area in Brahmanbaria town of Brahmanbaria District on March 11, reports The New Age. The RAB raided the area and recovered the bombs in an abandoned condition. RAB suspected that the bombs were taken in the area for carrying out subversive activities. Read less...

The Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 (Dhaka City) on March 13 sentenced a leader of banned outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Mamunur Rashid alias Zahid, to death for detonating a bomb at Gazipur (Gazipur District) Police superintendent's office in February 20, 2009 in which 16 people were injured, according to Daily Star. He was arrested on the same day. Read less...

A former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Asad Durrani, has admitted that the spy agency had funded main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during 1991 general elections as he was summoned to testify in a case before the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on March 14 . Read less...

Detective Branch (DB) of Police arrested eight cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) from a restaurant in the Chittagong city on March 14, reports Daily Star. DB Assistant Commissioner Tanvir Arafat said they arrested the eight on information that they were plotting subversive activities. Read less...

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 14 reiterated her resolve to try the War Criminals on the soil of Bangladesh, according to Daily Star. Addressing the opposition leader Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), she commented, “You cannot save them”. She further alleged, that the BNP chairperson and her husband, Ziaur Rahman, tried to save the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Read less...

Referring to the allegation that Khaleda received 50 million rupees from Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the 1991 parliamentary election, Hasina said, “Go to Pakistan, if you have so much sympathy for it. Don’t pollute the soil of Bangladesh”. Read less...

Police in Bangladesh on March 16 arrested a Pakistani national, identified as Mohammad Shaukat Ali, in Chittagong District while entering Indian state of Tripura with a huge quantity of fake Indian currency notes (FICNs), according to english.manoramaonline.com. "In a subsequent search, the police in Bangladesh recovered FICN with a face value of INR 19.70 lakhs from him. Shaukat told the police interrogators that he is just a carrier and is paid around INR 20,000 for each trip to Bangladesh," an unnamed Police officer said. The detainee has also admitted to Police that the FICNs are printed in Pakistan and sent to India via Bangladesh. Read less...

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 18 said the opposition leader Khaleda Zia had been conspiring against the country since its liberation in 1971, reports Daily Star. She stated, “It's now clear that Khaleda has been hatching conspiracy against Bangladesh since its independence”. Hasina said Ziaur Rahman was a freedom fighter by chance, but his wife (Khaleda) never expressed solidarity with the country's independence. Hasina further commented, “It'll also come to light one day that how much money Khaleda had taken from the ISI during the 2001 elections”. Read less...

Seven Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres were arrested by Police after ICS brought out processions on the Chittagong University (CU) campus on March 18, reports Daily Star. Police said the Shibir men were nabbed on charge of attempting to create disorder on the campus. Read less...

Tarique Rahman was accused of masterminding the attack along with several party stalwarts and leaders of their fundamentalist ally, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). Read less...

The Speedy Trial Court on March 18 indicted Tarique Rahman, the fugitive son of former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia and 29 others, in connection with the August 21, 2004 grenade attack that killed 24 people, reports Gulf Times. Aside from Tarique Rahman, prominent personalities such as former Junior Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar as well as several senior Police and Army officials will face trial that will start on March 28, 2012. Rahman as well as 29 of the defendants will be tried in absentia. Read less...

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) killed Mostafizur Rahman alias Mostak, who had been leading the banned outfit Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) in Rajshahi District, in Goakhali village of Bagmara sub-district in Rajshahi District, on March 20 (today), according to Daily Star. Two RAB personnel were also injured during the gunfight. Mostak was previously a close aide of executed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and was involved with the JMB in 2004. He was ‘operation commander’ of the JMB’sBagmara unit. Read less...

Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina while addressing a party meeting at the Barisal Circuit House on March 21 urged her party leaders and activists to mobilize public support for the trial of the war crimes committed during the War of Independence in 1971. Read less...

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 22 in an event organized to mark the 37th founding anniversary of the Islamic Foundation urged all religious-minded people to beware of any conspiracy against the trial of the war criminals. She added, the government has taken steps to bring the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity to justice. Read less...

The Double Mooring Police Station unit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Ameer (chief), identified as Omar Azam, was arrested from Silimpur area in Sitakunda sub-district in Chittagong city on March 26 on charge of planning subversive activities, reports Daily Star. He was holding a "secret meeting" at the house of one Babul Hoque. Read less...

Khulna region ‘chief’ of Gono Mukti Fauz (GMF), identified as Bidhan Chandra Biswas (45), was killed in by law enforcers in Sadar sub-district of Jhenaidah District on March 31 . Read less...

Police arrested two cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) and recovered a pistol, two bullets few leaflets, CDs and memo books from their possession at Hadiarpur in Chuadanga town on March 31, reports Daily Star. The arrestees are Rimon Chowdhury (19) and his elder brother Miraj Chowdhury. Police further said these two are brothers of Riyad Chowdhury, top ICS cadre of Islamic University. Read less...