DHAKA: In a major blow to ISIS-linked New Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh faction, its chief Abdur Rahman jumped to his death to evade arrest on October 8 during counter-terror raids in Ashulia in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) revealed on Friday evening.
Though ISIS has claimed the Holey Artisan Bakery attack on July 1 that claimed lives of 20 people, mostly foreign nationals including one Indian, security agencies in the eastern neighbourhood have always blamed ‘homegrown’ terror outfits like JMB and its new faction New JMB for the attack. “Investigations have confirmed that Abdur Rahman was the chief of the New JMB. He has been with the outfit since its formation in 1998,” RAB director general Benazir Ahmed told mediapersons.
A native of Chapai Nawabganj district near the Indo-Bangladesh border at Malda district of West Bengal, Abdur Rahman’s real name is Sarwar Jahan. He also went by the name Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif and has been claimed as the ISIS Bangladesh chief in the global terror organisation’s online magazine Dabiq, sources revealed. Dabiq regularly publishes about terror attacks in Bangladesh in its magazine, including the murder of a Hindu priest in northern Bangladesh and another attack on a Shia preacher in Jhenaidah in western Bangladesh.
With the death of New JMB chief in Bangladesh and arrest of JMB chief of West Bengal among 5 other operatives in Kolkata on September 26, the Islamic militant group is in disarray in the greater Bengal region. “There are only 22 New JMB operatives remaining in Bangladesh,” Benazir said. JMB militants go underground With heightened operations against the New JMB and JMB operatives throughout the country, several militants have gone underground, a senior official in the Counter Terrorism Unit of Bangladesh Police told Express over the phone.
“We have conducted operations against them in Gazipur, Tangail, Narayanganj and many more places. Several of them have gone into hiding. But, we will hunt them down,” the official said. JMB recruiting Rohingyas? With dwindling numbers, the militant organisation may seek new recruits for their organisation and what better than the persecuted Rohingyas, who will be easier to recruit based on their history of being at the receiving end.
Though police officials share the concern, they feel that monitoring Rohingyas would prevent terror groups from recruiting them. “We Bangladeshis shared this concern the first day since we let the Rohingya refugees come in through Cox’s Bazaar that Rohingyas may be easily recruited into terror groups. However, strict monitoring over the refugees’ activities will prevent the terror groups from making a base among the Rohingyas,” the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
RAB comes to Kolkata to interrogate 6 JMB men Interrogators of Rapid Action Battalion reached Kolkata on Saturday to interrogate the 6 JMB men who were arrested by Kolkata Police on September 26, five of whom are accused in the Burdwan blasts. Of the six, three are Bangladeshi nationals and were wanted in their country for various terror activities.