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Published : 26 Nov 2015, 12:29 PM
On Thursday, police identified the man killed in last night's 'shootout' at Dhaka's Darus Salam Police Station area as Jamaa'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) military wing chief Al Bani alias Hojja Bhai.
Detective Branch (DB) official Monirul Islam told a media briefing that five other JMB activists were nabbed on Thursday morning during raids.
The five arrested after Wednesday night's 'shootout' were identified as Chan Mia, Omar Faruk alias Manik, Md Shahjalal, Hafez Ahsanullah Mahmud and Md Kabir Hossain Rashed alias Ashik.
Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said the deceased Hojja Bhai and the five arrested on Thursday were involved in bombing the Shia gathering in Old Dhaka, the bank robbery at Ashulia and the attack on the Savar police checkpost and in snatching away JMB prisoners from a police van in Mymensingh.
He said that Hojja Bhai and Ashik were responsible for hurling bombs at the Hussaini Dalan in Old Dhaka on a Shia gathering on the day of Ashura.
The bombing killed two and injured 113 people.
Joint Commissioner Islam said both Hojja Bhai and Ashik had received training in carrying out suicide attacks.
The other four helped them to carry out the Oct 24 attack in Old Dhaka, according to police.
Though the so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the explosions on its online magazine ‘Dabiq’, police have maintained it was the handiwork of 'local extremists'.
On Nov 2, machete-wielding assailants attacked a police check post at Savar’s Ashulia.
Police said Hojja Bhai was the suspected mastermind of the attack, in which a constable was killed and another was severely injured.
DB Joint Commissioner Islam told the media that Hojja Bhai was also the mastermind of the Apr 21 Ashulia bank robbery.
He said that Chan Mia, who was arrested early on Thursday, took part in the snatching of JMB activists from a prison van in Mymensingh last year.
The others who have been arrested used to help fellow JMB operatives by providing logistic support, according to police.
