JMB planned massive Bangladesh attacks, say police

Acting chief of a Jamaa'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) faction Abdullah Al Tasnim and his cohort wanted to hog global media headlines by targetting a prominent citizen or political party, police say.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam on Sunday said investigators teased out the information from the seven men of the banned Islamist outfit arrested recently.

They, including Tasnim alias Nahid, were arrested at Dhaka's Turag with a huge cache of explosives on last Thursday night.

Islam said JMB men wanted to draw attention of the world’s extremist outfits, including the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East, and financiers of militant activities through the attacks.

Speaking at a press briefing at his office, he said: “Money is the oxygen in running an organisation. JMB planned to set up a school and college in Uttara to make money and recruit members.”

He said they contacted IS on the internet and tried to communicate with Middle East-based NGOs and donors.

“They could reach those donors if only they could kill (a high-profile personality) or carry out subversive acts as proof of their ability,” he added.

Islam said JMB men planned massive sabotages in the hope that they would be covered by world media and their ability would be proved.

He did not say who the targets of the attacks were only confirming security had been heightened for them.

The six other JMB men arrested are Md Naim Ali, 28, Md Sikandar Ali alias Noki, 25, Mahmud Ibn Bashar, 23, Md Masum Billah, 26, Fuad Hasan, 18, and Ali Ahmed, 24.

Police questioned the seven during a two-day remand.

Islam told reporters on Friday that the JMB members knew of the plan to murder TV show host Nurul Islam Farooqi.

He claimed that the arrest of the seven JMB men had frustrated the outfit’s effort to reorganise.

JMB top leader Shaykh Abdur Rahman was arrested on Mar 2, 2006 and another leader Siddiqul Islam aka ‘Bangla Bhai’ four days later.

They were hanged on Mar 30, 2007 over the murders of two Jhalakathi assistant judges.

After lying low for a brief period, JMB again hijacked headlines after its operatives snatched their three convicted colleagues from police attacking a prison van in Mymensingh in February this year.