B'desh Grapples With JMB, Its New Avatars
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Bangladesh Parliament, Dhaka
The activists of the outlawed Jamiatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) are regrouping in certain pockets of the country abandoning their traditional hideouts after the arrest of their top IT and bomb experts a few weeks ago. They are now concentrating in new pockets to preach their ideology.
The JMB operatives are so long active in Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Rajshahi. But after the arrest of its IT chief Mohammad Emranul Haque alias Razib and bomb making expert Mizan from Dhaka, the JMB members have targeted Satkhira, Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong Hill Tracts to carry out Islamic mission and make these areas ‘liberated zone’ on the pattern of Swat region in Pakistan where the Taliban have a field day.
Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat and Sajedur Rahman alias Hanif have now taken over the leadership of JMB and are charting activities under a new name to elude the vigil of the law enforcing agencies. After his return from India, Shahadat emerged as the chief organiser of ‘Islam and Muslim’, a new face of the JMB.
Shahadat operated for two and-half years in Murshidabad, Nadia and Malda district of West Bengal on the instructions of former JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and his deputy, Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai who had unleashed a reign of terror in Rajshahi before being executed in 2007 following their conviction for killing two judges.
Last week, a JMB militant laid siege to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Ltd office at Habiganj for three and a half hours and threatened to blow it up holding two people including a child hostage. The nerve-racking standoff ended when the police got the hostages free and captured the militant during his bid to flee by exploding bombs.
These violent incidents keep recurring at regular intervals in the country and do not stand in isolation. Not so long ago, synchronized bomb explosions rocked capital Dhaka and 63 of the 64 district headquarters in the country on Aug 17, 2005. There was a complete mayhem following the bomb attacks most of which were set off in the vicinities of public places like the High Court, National Press Club, Dhaka University, Secretariat building, Zia International airport and the district administration offices. The JMB claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Leaflets in Bengali and Arabic which were found near the blast sites called for establishment of Islamic rule in the country, adding that international laws were not applicable to Muslim land and that democracy and communism were the methods of the infidels.
The leaflets said JMB activists are the soldiers of Allah and that they have taken up weapons to introduce Allah’s rule in the country. These leaflets threatened to go for counter offensive against the authorities if the Govt failed to establish Islamic rule in the country and called the present democratic system a creation of ‘Kafer.’ And appealed to the armed forces, BDR and police personnel to protect Allah’s laws instead of man-made laws prevailing in the country.
Based on interrogation of the arrested militants, the police and other investigating agencies estimate that over 5000 persons engineered the simultaneous blasts. The detainees admitted that they had received specialized arms training at a camp located on Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Two foreign instructors Maulana Nabi of Sudan and Maulana Azhar of Pakistan imparted training to them.
The JMB carried out Bangladesh’s first suicide attacks on October 3, 2005 in 3 district courts simultaneously. Another near simultaneous suicide attack was carried out on November 29, 2005 in Chittagong and Gazipur court when 13 people were killed and more than 50 injured. In another incident, 2 judges were killed by a JMB suicide squad member on Nov 14, 2005. On December 8, 2005, seven people were killed and more than 100 injured when 2 bombs exploded in Netrakona. Earlier, a JMB suicide bomber set off a bomb (Dec 01, 2005) in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner in Gazipur. The militants were specifically targeting the judges, court buildings and lawyers with a view to introducing ‘Allah’s laws’ in place of the existing ‘man-made laws’.
Interrogations of former JMB top leaders like Shaikh Adbur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam@ Bangla Bhai revealed their links with the ISI created organizations including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad as well as the ISI itself. Abdur Rahman confessed that he had received arms training in a LeT camp in POK and subsequently set up training centers in different parts of Bangladesh.
Most significantly Abdur Rahman revealed his linkages with international terrorist outfits including Al Qaeda and Taliban and sources of fund. The interrogation report of these top level Islamic terrorists has been kept secret and with their execution all information that could reveal vital links to the global terrorism campaign seems to have been lost.
Abdur Rahman told the press after his arrest that JMB was backed by some former ministers and MPs of BNP and JEI. He particularly named BNP’s Altaf Hossen Chowdhury, former Commerce Minister, and Ruhul Quddus Talukdar, Deputy Minister for Land Development and JEI leader Matiur Rahman Nizami, former Industries Minister. These disclosures remain unchallenged till date.
JMB comprising mostly the JEI / ICS (JEI student front) activists commenced operating in the year 2002 with the sole objective of pursuing Taliban model of Islamic revolution in Bangladesh. Even after being banned in Feb 2005 under pressure from donor countries activities of the militant group continued unabated due to backing of a section within the administration and some political leaders. Earlier, JEI leader Nizami denied existence of JMB terming it as a media creation.
The NGO Bureau of Bangladesh has estimated that the funds pumped in by the JMB and other such pro-Al Qaeda outfits from foreign Islamic NGOs ranges from Tk 400 to Tk 500 crore annually. Intelligence agencies believe that funds are pouring in from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Pakistan, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt for JMB.
Militants also receive huge funds through hawala transactions. Former JMB chief Abdur Rahman’s brother Waliur Rahman has also been regularly sending funds from Saudi Arabia where he is presently staying. According to a report, about 4 % of Saudi Arabia’s annual budget is spent for promoting Islamic causes all over the world. Out of this, 2% is kept reserved for the Indian subcontinent, especially for Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. This amount is channelized through Pakistan’s ISI for the pro-al Qaeda outfits in various locations in these countries.
When Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai and four JMB regional commanders were awarded death sentence, Maulana Delwar Hossain Syeedi, senior JEI ideologue, rallied in their support. He requested the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia not to implement death sentence of these militants saying that they could well be used as ‘assets’ on the ground. Khaleda reprieve proved to be short lived. When the army backed Caretaker Government took over, these militants were executed.
Instead of hammering the last nail in JMB’s coffin, the execution of the high profile JMB leaders actually incited a resurgent JMB to perpetrate fresh attacks.
JMB has been regrouping and restructuring in spite of continued crackdown. Its cadres are resurfacing in the guise of Imams of Mosques and madrassa teachers across Bangladesh. They are carrying out violent activities at regular intervals under different banners like Allahar Dal, Hizb-e-Abu Omar, Tanzin-e-Tamiruddin, Jadid Al Qaeda and Al Firdous.
Intelligence officials found that Jadid Al Qaeda which carried out the near simultaneous bomb attacks on May 1, 2007 at railway stations in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet was another name of JMB and the blasts were an act of revenge for the execution of its top leaders. A govt prosecutor who had handled the JMB leaders’ case was shot dead.
Now JMB cadres are being imparted training for carrying out car bomb attacks. Security forces have seized huge stockpiles of explosive materials, broken up numerous terrorist cells and apprehended a number of JMB militants. The arrests and seizures bear witness to JMB’s wide spread reach and presence in Bangladesh.
According to information available, about 25 of the 64 JMB district commanders who managed to evade arrest have reportedly joined hands with the suicide squads to carry out attacks on top political leaders including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The JMB and the rest of the Islamic terrorist networks in Bangladesh are spawned by al-Qaeda and Taliban Jihadis. They were trained by the Pak ISI and LeT. None of the umbilical cords have been cut for good. In other words, JMB amoeba survives despite the crackdown.
Elimination of top leadership alone is not the answer to curb JMB militancy. Its mentors and patrons too should be identified and brought to book. Simultaneously, all sources of funds should be chocked to cripple the outfit forever.
The JMB operatives are so long active in Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Rajshahi. But after the arrest of its IT chief Mohammad Emranul Haque alias Razib and bomb making expert Mizan from Dhaka, the JMB members have targeted Satkhira, Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong Hill Tracts to carry out Islamic mission and make these areas ‘liberated zone’ on the pattern of Swat region in Pakistan where the Taliban have a field day.
Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat and Sajedur Rahman alias Hanif have now taken over the leadership of JMB and are charting activities under a new name to elude the vigil of the law enforcing agencies. After his return from India, Shahadat emerged as the chief organiser of ‘Islam and Muslim’, a new face of the JMB.
Shahadat operated for two and-half years in Murshidabad, Nadia and Malda district of West Bengal on the instructions of former JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and his deputy, Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai who had unleashed a reign of terror in Rajshahi before being executed in 2007 following their conviction for killing two judges.
Last week, a JMB militant laid siege to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Ltd office at Habiganj for three and a half hours and threatened to blow it up holding two people including a child hostage. The nerve-racking standoff ended when the police got the hostages free and captured the militant during his bid to flee by exploding bombs.
These violent incidents keep recurring at regular intervals in the country and do not stand in isolation. Not so long ago, synchronized bomb explosions rocked capital Dhaka and 63 of the 64 district headquarters in the country on Aug 17, 2005. There was a complete mayhem following the bomb attacks most of which were set off in the vicinities of public places like the High Court, National Press Club, Dhaka University, Secretariat building, Zia International airport and the district administration offices. The JMB claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Leaflets in Bengali and Arabic which were found near the blast sites called for establishment of Islamic rule in the country, adding that international laws were not applicable to Muslim land and that democracy and communism were the methods of the infidels.
The leaflets said JMB activists are the soldiers of Allah and that they have taken up weapons to introduce Allah’s rule in the country. These leaflets threatened to go for counter offensive against the authorities if the Govt failed to establish Islamic rule in the country and called the present democratic system a creation of ‘Kafer.’ And appealed to the armed forces, BDR and police personnel to protect Allah’s laws instead of man-made laws prevailing in the country.
Based on interrogation of the arrested militants, the police and other investigating agencies estimate that over 5000 persons engineered the simultaneous blasts. The detainees admitted that they had received specialized arms training at a camp located on Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Two foreign instructors Maulana Nabi of Sudan and Maulana Azhar of Pakistan imparted training to them.
The JMB carried out Bangladesh’s first suicide attacks on October 3, 2005 in 3 district courts simultaneously. Another near simultaneous suicide attack was carried out on November 29, 2005 in Chittagong and Gazipur court when 13 people were killed and more than 50 injured. In another incident, 2 judges were killed by a JMB suicide squad member on Nov 14, 2005. On December 8, 2005, seven people were killed and more than 100 injured when 2 bombs exploded in Netrakona. Earlier, a JMB suicide bomber set off a bomb (Dec 01, 2005) in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner in Gazipur. The militants were specifically targeting the judges, court buildings and lawyers with a view to introducing ‘Allah’s laws’ in place of the existing ‘man-made laws’.
Interrogations of former JMB top leaders like Shaikh Adbur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam@ Bangla Bhai revealed their links with the ISI created organizations including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad as well as the ISI itself. Abdur Rahman confessed that he had received arms training in a LeT camp in POK and subsequently set up training centers in different parts of Bangladesh.
Most significantly Abdur Rahman revealed his linkages with international terrorist outfits including Al Qaeda and Taliban and sources of fund. The interrogation report of these top level Islamic terrorists has been kept secret and with their execution all information that could reveal vital links to the global terrorism campaign seems to have been lost.
Abdur Rahman told the press after his arrest that JMB was backed by some former ministers and MPs of BNP and JEI. He particularly named BNP’s Altaf Hossen Chowdhury, former Commerce Minister, and Ruhul Quddus Talukdar, Deputy Minister for Land Development and JEI leader Matiur Rahman Nizami, former Industries Minister. These disclosures remain unchallenged till date.
JMB comprising mostly the JEI / ICS (JEI student front) activists commenced operating in the year 2002 with the sole objective of pursuing Taliban model of Islamic revolution in Bangladesh. Even after being banned in Feb 2005 under pressure from donor countries activities of the militant group continued unabated due to backing of a section within the administration and some political leaders. Earlier, JEI leader Nizami denied existence of JMB terming it as a media creation.
The NGO Bureau of Bangladesh has estimated that the funds pumped in by the JMB and other such pro-Al Qaeda outfits from foreign Islamic NGOs ranges from Tk 400 to Tk 500 crore annually. Intelligence agencies believe that funds are pouring in from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Pakistan, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt for JMB.
Militants also receive huge funds through hawala transactions. Former JMB chief Abdur Rahman’s brother Waliur Rahman has also been regularly sending funds from Saudi Arabia where he is presently staying. According to a report, about 4 % of Saudi Arabia’s annual budget is spent for promoting Islamic causes all over the world. Out of this, 2% is kept reserved for the Indian subcontinent, especially for Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. This amount is channelized through Pakistan’s ISI for the pro-al Qaeda outfits in various locations in these countries.
When Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai and four JMB regional commanders were awarded death sentence, Maulana Delwar Hossain Syeedi, senior JEI ideologue, rallied in their support. He requested the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia not to implement death sentence of these militants saying that they could well be used as ‘assets’ on the ground. Khaleda reprieve proved to be short lived. When the army backed Caretaker Government took over, these militants were executed.
Instead of hammering the last nail in JMB’s coffin, the execution of the high profile JMB leaders actually incited a resurgent JMB to perpetrate fresh attacks.
JMB has been regrouping and restructuring in spite of continued crackdown. Its cadres are resurfacing in the guise of Imams of Mosques and madrassa teachers across Bangladesh. They are carrying out violent activities at regular intervals under different banners like Allahar Dal, Hizb-e-Abu Omar, Tanzin-e-Tamiruddin, Jadid Al Qaeda and Al Firdous.
Intelligence officials found that Jadid Al Qaeda which carried out the near simultaneous bomb attacks on May 1, 2007 at railway stations in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet was another name of JMB and the blasts were an act of revenge for the execution of its top leaders. A govt prosecutor who had handled the JMB leaders’ case was shot dead.
Now JMB cadres are being imparted training for carrying out car bomb attacks. Security forces have seized huge stockpiles of explosive materials, broken up numerous terrorist cells and apprehended a number of JMB militants. The arrests and seizures bear witness to JMB’s wide spread reach and presence in Bangladesh.
According to information available, about 25 of the 64 JMB district commanders who managed to evade arrest have reportedly joined hands with the suicide squads to carry out attacks on top political leaders including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The JMB and the rest of the Islamic terrorist networks in Bangladesh are spawned by al-Qaeda and Taliban Jihadis. They were trained by the Pak ISI and LeT. None of the umbilical cords have been cut for good. In other words, JMB amoeba survives despite the crackdown.
Elimination of top leadership alone is not the answer to curb JMB militancy. Its mentors and patrons too should be identified and brought to book. Simultaneously, all sources of funds should be chocked to cripple the outfit forever.
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