Gulshan attack 'mastermind' Tamim's 'deputy' killed in Dhaka raid

A suspected militant has been killed in a raid on a house in Dhaka's Rupnagar, whom police identify as top Neo-JMB leader Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury's 'second-in-command'.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 2 Sept 2016, 04:03 PM
Updated : 2 Sept 2016, 10:17 PM

Detective Branch Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanwar Hossain identified the deceased as 'Murad', called 'Major Murad' by the members of his outfit.

"We raided the house on information that he had rented it," he said.

DB Joint Commissioner Abdul Baten said police raided the house at Road No 33 in Rupnagar Residential Area around 9:30pm on Friday.

Syed Shaheed Alam, OC of Rupnagar Police Station, Inspector Shaheen Fakir and Sub-Inspector Md Momenur Rahman were also injured, Baten said.

.

Additional Inspector General Md Mokhlesur Rahman said at the house that Murad had used aliases 'Jahangir' and 'Omar'.

Murad was carrying a knife and a pistol during the raid. "He used both of them."

Special Branch AIG Jabed Patwary said Murad was aged between 45 and 50.

Police's counterterrorism unit chief Monirul Islam said Murad was the 'military trainer' of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). "He was known as Major Murad in the organisation.”

DB’s Sanwar said police found out about Murad in the investigations after the death of Tamim, the suspected mastermind of Gulshan cafe terror attack, in a raid on a house in Narayanganj on Aug 27.

He said police raided the house in Rupnagar also on Thursday but found it locked.

"We asked the landlord to inform us when the tenant returns. The landlord locked the house from outside and called police," Sanwar said.

"He (Murad) stabbed police officers when they entered the house. He died after being hit by a bullet during a scuffle that ensued when he tried to flee," Sanwar added.

The injured police officials were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Shaheed and Shaheen were later transferred to Square Hospital.

DMP Deputy Commissioner Biplab Kumar Sarker told reporters that their wounds were 'serious'. "They are undergoing surgery now," he said.

.

DMCH physician Dr Jesmine Nahar said Shaheed sustained injuries from a sharp weapon in his waist and Shaheen in his left shoulder and head.

"Shaheen also has a wound in his right leg, which appears a bullet injury," she added.

Police had named Tamim, a Canadian-Bangladeshi who led the 'Neo-JMB', as the one who orchestrated the Jul 1 attack on the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery and O' Kitchen restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone.

After the attacks at Dhaka's Gulshan and Kishoreganj's Sholakia, a small sleepy town that hosts Bangladesh’s largest Eid congregation, police have been looking for hideouts used by militants throughout Bangladesh.

During a routine search in late July, police came under attack from militants holed up in an apartment at Dhaka's Kalyanpur. A SWAT team later stormed the apartment and gunned down nine suspected militants.

Flags similar to those of radical group Islamic State, which purportedly claimed the Gulshan attack, were found in Kalyanpur.

.

International media reports, citing several Islamic State publications, have described Tamim as the coordinator of Middle East-based group’s Bangladesh operations.

The Bangladesh authorities, however, maintain that Tamim led the 'Neo-JMB', which emerged after the JMB split.

They have ruled out any connection between the outfit and the Islamic State.

After announcing Tk 2 million reward for information leading to Tamim on Aug 2, police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said police had also identified the second man and third-in-command in Neo-JMB after Tamim.

"We are trying to arrest them," he had said.