Bangladesh « Signal, No Noise

November 16, 2009

Bangladesh Arrests Three Suspected LeT Operatives

Filed under: Asia,Bangladesh,South Central Asia,Terrorism — mungurk @ 08:54

Friday November 13, 2009 05:17:00 EST

(RTTNews) – Bangladesh police Thursday night arrested three suspected Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, a week after it arrested two operatives of the local Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) Islamist group and one of the LeT, in a stepped-up manhunt for Islmic militants, said to be plotting to attack offices of the Indian High Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka.

Confirming the arrests, Deputy Commissioner of Police’s Detective Branch (DB) Monirul Islam told an Indian news agency it had arrested the three suspected LeT operatives Thursday night from the Tongi and Uttara areas of capital Dhaka.

He identified the trio (all Muslims) as Abu Sufiyan, Mohammad Monwar and Mohammad Zahid, but would not confirm if the three or anyone else were Pakistani nationals.

The official said the hunt was on for more suspected LeT operatives.

The three LeT operatives were arrested in the southeastern port city of Chittagong, following receipt of intelligence reports of their whereabouts. This followed the arrest of two other suspected militants–David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, 49, a U.S. citizen, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, a Canadian citizen born in Pakistan–in the United States last month.

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November 8, 2009

Bangladesh police say Islamists target U.S. interests

Filed under: Americas,Asia,Bangladesh,North America,South Central Asia,Terrorism,USA — mungurk @ 22:24

source

Reuters
Friday, November 6, 2009; 7:32 AM

DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh police have arrested three Islamist militants, including a suspected activist of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, who were plotting to attack U.S. interests in the country, a senior police officer said on Friday.

“We have arrested the three from Chittagong port city as they were making plans to hit U.S. targets,” the officer, who asked not to be identified, told reporters. Lashkar-e-Taiba is the group blamed for last year’s assault on Mumbai.

The U.S. embassy declined to comment.

Earlier, home ministry officials said Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country of 150 million people, had stepped up security as intelligence reports suggested militants might target key politicians, officials and may be diplomats.

Last week unknown attackers bombed the car of a ruling party legislator, Fazle Noor Tapas. He escaped unhurt, but more than a dozen people were wounded.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament on Thursday that Islamists who want to turn Bangladesh into a sharia-based Islamic state were out to thwart democracy and oust her government, which took charge in January.

“What they are up to? They are trying to scuttle democracy and push the country into chaos and violence,” she said.

Police said on Friday they had detained dozens of hard-core militants across the country in the past week.

Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, chief of the elite Rapid Action Battalion, told reporters the militants were regrouping and planning to hit key targets but “we are fully ready to face the situation and frustrate their evil designs.”

(Reporting by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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