Militant attack foiled in B'desh; top JMB leader among 5 held

Dhaka, Dec 4 A major militant attack was foiled in Bangladesh following the arrest of five persons affiliated to the banned outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), officials said on Saturday, adding that IEDs and bomb making materials were also recovered.

The arrested militants have been identified as Ahidul Islam Ahid alias Palash, Md Waheed alias Abdur Rahman, Abdullah Al Mamun alias Dr Suja, Md Zahidul Islam alias Zahid alias Jobayer, and Md Nur Amin alias Sabuj.

Three months ago, the house of one of the top militant leaders Ahidul Islam Ahid aka Palash was stocked with a huge quantity of improvised explosives devices (IEDs).

Ahid the top militant of JMB's Rangpur region military branch is the leader of the Rangpur region. He had joined the outfit in 2015.

The other arrested individuals were involved in militancy, officials said.

Al Mamun alias Dr Suja holds a diploma in medical assistance. While Zahid is a supervisor at a toy company, Abdur Rahman works as a labourer at a firm, while Nur Amin is an employee with a private company.

They joined the JMB three years ago through Ahidul Islam.

The police also recovered materials used to make bombs, one pistol, one magazine, five rounds of ammunition, and other articles.

During questioning, the arrested militants confessed that they were planning to carry out attacks.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh Police in the early hours of Saturday raided a house suspecting it to be a militant hideout at Puthihari Majhapara village, an official said.

RAB-13 Director Reza Ahmed told that a team of the bomb disposal unit was deployed at the spot.

Legal action is being taken against all the arrested, Mahmud Bashir Ahmed, Assistant Director (Media) of RAB, said.