US State Department's rewards for justice programme on Monday announced&nbsp;rewards of up to $5 million on terrorists who had attacked&nbsp;American nationals in 2015.

The State Department said the terrorists from the Al Qaeda-linked terror organisation&nbsp;had killed writer Avijit Roy and wounded his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed during the attack in Dhaka.

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Reward! Up to $5 Million for Information 
On Attack Against Americans in Bangladesh 
 
In 2015, terrorists killed Avijit Roy and wounded his wife, Rafida Ahmed, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
 
If you have info on those responsible for this heinous attack, text us at the number below. <a href="https://t.co/cB26VVBKve">pic.twitter.com/cB26VVBKve</a>
— Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) <a href="https://twitter.com/RFJ_USA/status/1472930100781977602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The Bangladesh court this year had sentenced five terrorists to death while sending one of them to life imprisonment.

The US government said, "Two of those defendants Syed Ziaul Haque and Akram Hossain were tried and remain at large." The State Department has offered rewards for information&nbsp;leading to the arrest of the two terrorists.

Avijit Roy and his wife were returning from a book fair when they were attacked by the terrorists.&nbsp;

The Bangladesh court said charges against the defendants were proved while delivering the verdict. Special prosecutor Mohammed Golan Sharuar Khan had said their aim was to "kill bloggers, writers and publishers to stop freedom of speech of people and disrupt public safety by creating panic among the people.” &nbsp;

Avijit was gunned down by the terrorists as his wife received severe wounds during the attack on February 26, 2015. Avijit’s father later filed a murder case. The Bangladesh court reached its verdict in February 2021.

(With inputs from Agencies)&nbsp;&nbsp;

US State Department's rewards for justice programme on Monday announced rewards of up to $5 million on terrorists who had attacked American nationals in 2015. The State Department said the terrorists from the Al Qaeda-linked terror organisation had killed writer Avijit Roy and wounded his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed during the attack in Dhaka.

US State Department's rewards for justice programme on Monday announced rewards of up to $5 million on terrorists who had attacked American nationals in 2015. The State Department said the terrorists from the Al Qaeda-linked terror organisation had killed writer Avijit Roy and wounded his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed during the attack in Dhaka. Reward! Up to $5 Million for Information On Attack Against Americans in Bangladesh In 2015, terrorists killed Avijit Roy and wounded his wife, Rafida Ahmed, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. If you have info on those responsible for this heinous attack, text us at the number below. pic.twitter.com/cB26VVBKve — Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) December 20, 2021 × The Bangladesh court this year had sentenced five terrorists to death while sending one of them to life imprisonment. The US government said, "Two of those defendants Syed Ziaul Haque and Akram Hossain were tried and remain at large." The State Department has offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of the two terrorists. Avijit Roy and his wife were returning from a book fair when they were attacked by the terrorists. The Bangladesh court said charges against the defendants were proved while delivering the verdict. Special prosecutor Mohammed Golan Sharuar Khan had said their aim was to "kill bloggers, writers and publishers to stop freedom of speech of people and disrupt public safety by creating panic among the people.” Avijit was gunned down by the terrorists as his wife received severe wounds during the attack on February 26, 2015. Avijit’s father later filed a murder case. The Bangladesh court reached its verdict in February 2021. (With inputs from Agencies)

US announces $5 million reward for information on attack against Americans in Bangladesh

2016 Dhaka cafe attack verdict out; Bangladesh to hang 7 convicts. Watch video to know more.

2016 Dhaka cafe attack verdict out; Bangladesh to hang 7 convicts

Security has been beefed up as a special anti-terrorism court in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-police-arrest-two-in-connection-with-bakery-attack-1773">Dhaka</a> is set to pronounce verdict on Wednesday in the 2016 deadly terrorist attack on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/slow-turnover-at-dhaka-restaurants-one-year-after-cafe-attack-17796">Holey Artisan Bakery</a>.

Twenty-two civilians, including 17 foreign nationals, were killed after five gunmen carried out the attack in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan diplomatic enclave on July 1, 2016, Dhaka Tribune reported. Two police officers also died in the encounter before the army commandos killed the terrorists on the following day to end the siege and release the guests whom the militants took hostages inside the eatery.

Judge Md Mujibur Rahman of Dhaka Anti-terrorism Special Tribunal earlier this month set the date for pronouncing the verdict today after the arguments in the case ended. 
The prosecution lawyers hoped for maximum punishment for all the eight accused in the trial that was initiated on November 26, 2018.

One of the defence lawyers, Md Delwar Hossain, said, "The prosecution failed to prove the charges against our clients in the case, so they should be acquitted." According to the charge sheet submitted by the investigating agency - the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police - the eight accused are members of the banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

The cafe was shut down after the attack and later moved to a different location. The original building was locked down by the owners, only open to mourners on the anniversary of the attack who came to pay their respects. The incident is considered to be one of the deadliest terror attacks in Bangladesh's history.

Security has been beefed up as a special anti-terrorism court in Dhaka is set to pronounce verdict on Wednesday in the 2016 deadly terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery.

Security has been beefed up as a special anti-terrorism court in Dhaka is set to pronounce verdict on Wednesday in the 2016 deadly terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery. Twenty-two civilians, including 17 foreign nationals, were killed after five gunmen carried out the attack in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan diplomatic enclave on July 1, 2016, Dhaka Tribune reported. Two police officers also died in the encounter before the army commandos killed the terrorists on the following day to end the siege and release the guests whom the militants took hostages inside the eatery. Judge Md Mujibur Rahman of Dhaka Anti-terrorism Special Tribunal earlier this month set the date for pronouncing the verdict today after the arguments in the case ended. The prosecution lawyers hoped for maximum punishment for all the eight accused in the trial that was initiated on November 26, 2018. One of the defence lawyers, Md Delwar Hossain, said, "The prosecution failed to prove the charges against our clients in the case, so they should be acquitted." According to the charge sheet submitted by the investigating agency - the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police - the eight accused are members of the banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The cafe was shut down after the attack and later moved to a different location. The original building was locked down by the owners, only open to mourners on the anniversary of the attack who came to pay their respects. The incident is considered to be one of the deadliest terror attacks in Bangladesh's history.

Security beefed up ahead of verdict in Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery attack

A top Islamist will be hanged after Bangladesh&#39;s president rejected a mercy plea.

Mufti Abdul Hannan and two associates were handed the death sentence for attacking a shrine that left three people dead and wounded the British high commissioner at the time.

Bangladesh&#39;s highest court last month upheld a 2008 death sentence on Mufti Abdul Hannan and two associates for an attack Hazrat Shahjalal&rsquo;s&nbsp;shrine in 2004. The deadly attack left three people dead and injured the British high commissioner at the time.

Hannan was also sentenced to death for his role in Ramna Batamul attack in 2001.

Last month, Hannan had written&nbsp;to President Abdul Hamid seeking clemency. &nbsp;

&quot;But the president has rejected all three mercy petitions,&quot; his press secretary Joynal Abedin told AFP.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal confirmed the news, saying Kashimpur jail authorities have started the preparation for his execution.

&quot;Mufti Hannan will be executed anytime,&quot; Dhaka Tribune quoted the minister as saying.

Authorities have not announced a date but the executions are expected sometime this month.&nbsp;

Hannan headed the Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami (HuJI) group. &nbsp;The attack on the British ambassador in 2004 was among the most high-profile of a series of assaults by the group across Bangladesh in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The decision to reject clemency comes just weeks after militants attempted to free Hannan by hurling bombs at police vans as police transferred him between prisons.

By the time Hannan was arrested in late 2005 more than 100 people had been killed in attacks by HuJI on a church, secular gatherings and mosques used by Islam&#39;s minority sects.

Bangladesh has suffered a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities in recent years.&nbsp;

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility in some cases but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina&#39;s secular government has pinned the blame on local outfits.

There has been a resurgence of Islamist extremist attacks in recent weeks, with at least three being claimed by IS.&nbsp;

The fatalities included the head of intelligence of an elite security force tasked with tacking Islamist militancy across the Muslim-majority country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police and army commandos have arrested scores of suspected extremists and killed more than 60 people since an attack on a Dhaka cafe last year that left 22 dead.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Mufti Hannan, handed the death sentence for his involvement in multiple attacks in the noughties, will be reportedly executed this month

A top Islamist will be hanged after Bangladesh's president rejected a mercy plea. Mufti Abdul Hannan and two associates were handed the death sentence for attacking a shrine that left three people dead and wounded the British high commissioner at the time. Bangladesh's highest court last month upheld a 2008 death sentence on Mufti Abdul Hannan and two associates for an attack Hazrat Shahjalal’s shrine in 2004. The deadly attack left three people dead and injured the British high commissioner at the time. Hannan was also sentenced to death for his role in Ramna Batamul attack in 2001. Last month, Hannan had written to President Abdul Hamid seeking clemency. "But the president has rejected all three mercy petitions," his press secretary Joynal Abedin told AFP. Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal confirmed the news, saying Kashimpur jail authorities have started the preparation for his execution. "Mufti Hannan will be executed anytime," Dhaka Tribune quoted the minister as saying. Authorities have not announced a date but the executions are expected sometime this month. Hannan headed the Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami (HuJI) group. The attack on the British ambassador in 2004 was among the most high-profile of a series of assaults by the group across Bangladesh in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The decision to reject clemency comes just weeks after militants attempted to free Hannan by hurling bombs at police vans as police transferred him between prisons. By the time Hannan was arrested in late 2005 more than 100 people had been killed in attacks by HuJI on a church, secular gatherings and mosques used by Islam's minority sects. Bangladesh has suffered a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities in recent years. Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility in some cases but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has pinned the blame on local outfits. There has been a resurgence of Islamist extremist attacks in recent weeks, with at least three being claimed by IS. The fatalities included the head of intelligence of an elite security force tasked with tacking Islamist militancy across the Muslim-majority country. Police and army commandos have arrested scores of suspected extremists and killed more than 60 people since an attack on a Dhaka cafe last year that left 22 dead. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Top Islamist to be hanged after president rejects clemency plea

Indian investigators are probing controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik&#39;s links with people close to gangster Dawood Ibrahim, the man who headed an organised crime syndicate D-company in Mumbai.

India&#39;s Enforcement Directorate suspect that some Karachi-based businessmen close to Dawood funnelled large amounts of money in to Naik&#39;s organisation Islamic Research Foundation.

The ED&#39;s suspicion has grown after IRF&#39;s apprehended chief financial officer Aamir Gazdar apparently oversaw transactions from Pakistan and Dubai, according to Mumbai Mirror.

A senior ED official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a &quot;closely coordinated nvestigation&quot; was on to find whether Zaik&#39;s organisation was used as a front by Dawood Ibrahim and an unnamed Pakistni terror outfit.

Large transactions were also made from Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and a few African countries, the news report stated.&nbsp;

Naik or IRF representatives were not available for comment.

The ED also said Gazdar created shell companies to masquerade the offshore transactions.

Naik, who is known as the most influential&nbsp;Salafi ideologue in India, has been banned from preaching in India and Bangladesh.

He was banned from UK and Canada several years ago and Malaysia banned his preachings fearing communal tension in the country.

The 51-year-old preacher came under Bangladesh&#39;s security lens when one of the Dhaka attackers had posted on Facebook about Naik&#39;s influence on him.

Twenty two people, including 17 foreigners, were killed in a deadly assault on an upscale eatery in Bangladesh&#39;s capital city Dhaka on July 1.

Dawood Ibrahim has remained a fugitive -- India believes him to be hiding in Karachi, Pakistan -- ever since a series of bombs rocked Mumbai, then Bombay, in 1993, which left 257 people dead and hundreds wounded.

(WION)

India's Enforcement Directorate suspect the controversial preacher's organisation worked as a front for D-company and unnamed terror outfit

Indian investigators are probing controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's links with people close to gangster Dawood Ibrahim, the man who headed an organised crime syndicate D-company in Mumbai. India's Enforcement Directorate suspect that some Karachi-based businessmen close to Dawood funnelled large amounts of money in to Naik's organisation Islamic Research Foundation. The ED's suspicion has grown after IRF's apprehended chief financial officer Aamir Gazdar apparently oversaw transactions from Pakistan and Dubai, according to Mumbai Mirror. A senior ED official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a "closely coordinated nvestigation" was on to find whether Zaik's organisation was used as a front by Dawood Ibrahim and an unnamed Pakistni terror outfit. Large transactions were also made from Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and a few African countries, the news report stated. Naik or IRF representatives were not available for comment. The ED also said Gazdar created shell companies to masquerade the offshore transactions. Naik, who is known as the most influential Salafi ideologue in India, has been banned from preaching in India and Bangladesh. He was banned from UK and Canada several years ago and Malaysia banned his preachings fearing communal tension in the country. The 51-year-old preacher came under Bangladesh's security lens when one of the Dhaka attackers had posted on Facebook about Naik's influence on him. Twenty two people, including 17 foreigners, were killed in a deadly assault on an upscale eatery in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka on July 1. Dawood Ibrahim has remained a fugitive -- India believes him to be hiding in Karachi, Pakistan -- ever since a series of bombs rocked Mumbai, then Bombay, in 1993, which left 257 people dead and hundreds wounded. (WION)

India probes Zakir Naik's links to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim

Bangladesh police said Nurul Islam Marzan, a key coordinator of the attack on an upscale Dhaka cafe last July which left at least 20 people dead in its wake, was killed Friday morning in a gunfight with police.&nbsp;

Another man who is a suspect in the murders of Hindu priest Jogeshwar Roy, Hossain Ali, a Christian convert from Islam, and Japanese national Hoshi Kunio was also killed in the gunfight, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime chief Monirul Islam confirmed to WION.

Ali was killed in March last year. Roy in February, and Kunio in October 2015.

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The Holey Artisan bakery and O&#39;Kitchen restaurant after it was retaken by Bangladeshi army commandos. (Reuters)
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Security forces said Marzan was a key coordinator of the July attack, and that the terrorists who had taken hold of the cafe had shared photographs of the atrocities they committed inside with Marzan via encrypted messages.

Police said Marzan was a member of the neo Jamaatul Mujhideen Bangladesh and had been involved in the &quot;motivational training&quot; of militants in the country.

A student of the department of Arabic at Chittagong University, Marzan disappeared from the radar in January last year.

The attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka&#39;s diplomatic area in July last year killed at least 20 civilians, including 17 foreign nationals. One of those killed was a 19-year-old Indian girl,&nbsp;Tarishi Jain.&nbsp;

After a nearly 13-hour hostage crisis, Bangladesh Army&nbsp;commados launched &quot;Operation Thunderbolt&quot; to retake the cafe. Five terrorists were killed in the operation.&nbsp;

Islamic State later released photographs of the five terrorists and claimed responsibility for the attack.&nbsp;

Monirul Islam had earlier told WION that his counter-terrorist unit was hunting three militants, including Marzan, on priority.

Syed Ziaul Haque, chief of the Ansar Al Islam, an Al-Qaida affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, and Mynul Musa, a leader of the neo JMB, are the other two terrorists. They are still at large.

&quot;There has been an effort by the law enforcement agencies to gradually fold up or dismantle some of the key networks that they have identified and go after some of the top leadership of the neo JMB and some of the other groups which have become very prominent in recent times,&quot; said Shafqat Munir, a security analyst with the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies.&nbsp;

An awkward silence

Despite the coordinated efforts of security forces, which has resulted in the killing of at least 28 suspected militants since the July attack, Dhaka has been experiencing an awkward &quot;silence&quot;.

But the absence of more attacks since the July one last year cannot rule out the possibility of terrorists having more cards under their sleeves, warned Brigadier General (Retd.) Sakhawat Hussain, a security analyst.&nbsp;

&quot;There are serious challenges that still remain in our path,&quot; Munir told WION.

Analysts also caution that terrorist networks are not confined to key leadership alone, and that law enforcement agencies need to keep a close eye on sleeper cells and other parts of the networks. &nbsp;

(WION)

&nbsp;

Another man who is a suspect in the murders of a Hindu priest and a Christian convert from Islam was also killed in the gun battle

Bangladesh police said Nurul Islam Marzan, a key coordinator of the attack on an upscale Dhaka cafe last July which left at least 20 people dead in its wake, was killed Friday morning in a gunfight with police. Another man who is a suspect in the murders of Hindu priest Jogeshwar Roy, Hossain Ali, a Christian convert from Islam, and Japanese national Hoshi Kunio was also killed in the gunfight, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime chief Monirul Islam confirmed to WION. Ali was killed in March last year. Roy in February, and Kunio in October 2015. The Holey Artisan bakery and O'Kitchen restaurant after it was retaken by Bangladeshi army commandos. (Reuters) × Security forces said Marzan was a key coordinator of the July attack, and that the terrorists who had taken hold of the cafe had shared photographs of the atrocities they committed inside with Marzan via encrypted messages. Police said Marzan was a member of the neo Jamaatul Mujhideen Bangladesh and had been involved in the "motivational training" of militants in the country. A student of the department of Arabic at Chittagong University, Marzan disappeared from the radar in January last year. The attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic area in July last year killed at least 20 civilians, including 17 foreign nationals. One of those killed was a 19-year-old Indian girl, Tarishi Jain. After a nearly 13-hour hostage crisis, Bangladesh Army commados launched "Operation Thunderbolt" to retake the cafe. Five terrorists were killed in the operation. Islamic State later released photographs of the five terrorists and claimed responsibility for the attack. Monirul Islam had earlier told WION that his counter-terrorist unit was hunting three militants, including Marzan, on priority. Syed Ziaul Haque, chief of the Ansar Al Islam, an Al-Qaida affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, and Mynul Musa, a leader of the neo JMB, are the other two terrorists. They are still at large. "There has been an effort by the law enforcement agencies to gradually fold up or dismantle some of the key networks that they have identified and go after some of the top leadership of the neo JMB and some of the other groups which have become very prominent in recent times," said Shafqat Munir, a security analyst with the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies. An awkward silence Despite the coordinated efforts of security forces, which has resulted in the killing of at least 28 suspected militants since the July attack, Dhaka has been experiencing an awkward "silence". But the absence of more attacks since the July one last year cannot rule out the possibility of terrorists having more cards under their sleeves, warned Brigadier General (Retd.) Sakhawat Hussain, a security analyst. "There are serious challenges that still remain in our path," Munir told WION. Analysts also caution that terrorist networks are not confined to key leadership alone, and that law enforcement agencies need to keep a close eye on sleeper cells and other parts of the networks. (WION)

Bangladesh: Key coordinator of Dhaka cafe attack killed in gunfight with police

By Pooja Mehta 
 
Islamic State recently released a 15-minute video in Bangla language glorifying the five Dhaka attackers and urging the youth of Bangladesh to join them. 
 
The video was released by At-Tamkin, the official media channel of Bangla IS. 
 
It initially exhorts the Bangladesh youth to spread Islam through &lsquo;jihad&rsquo; across the world. 
 
The second half of the video blames Islamic scholars for preventing the youth from joining the banned terror outfit. 
 
The final segment of the clip shows how IS jihadists are being targeted in Iraq. It then instigates its viewers to pick up arms and wage a war against the people responsible for such crackdowns. 
 
It also glorifies the five men responsible for the Gulshan attack. The five attackers &mdash;&nbsp;Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Khairul Islam Payel, Shafiqul Islam Uzzal and Meer Saameh Mubasser &mdash;&nbsp;launch a blistering attack on the Bangladesh government, seemingly recorded ahead of the Gulshan attack. 
 
&ldquo;No matter how advanced you are in the field of technology or the kind of arms you have, no one will be able to save you from us. I urge all the youth of Bangladesh to pick up arms and wage a war against the kaafir, they do not deserve to live,&rdquo; Meer Saameh Mubasser is seen saying in the video. 
 
On the night of July 1, 2016, over 20 people were killed after they were taken hostage by five Islamic State militants in the Dhaka&rsquo;s high-security zone of Gulshan. Among the killed were several foreign nationals, including one Indian national. 
 
It ends with a song in Bangla, &lsquo;eseche caliphate, jege otho mujaheed&rsquo;, meaning that the caliphate is here, the warrior must rise for the cause of jihad. 
 
This is the second such video released by the Islamic State&rsquo;s Bangladesh wing. 
 
(WION)

The video urges Bangladeshi youth to join the Islamic State and spread Islam through 'jihad'

By Pooja Mehta Islamic State recently released a 15-minute video in Bangla language glorifying the five Dhaka attackers and urging the youth of Bangladesh to join them. The video was released by At-Tamkin, the official media channel of Bangla IS. It initially exhorts the Bangladesh youth to spread Islam through ‘jihad’ across the world. The second half of the video blames Islamic scholars for preventing the youth from joining the banned terror outfit. The final segment of the clip shows how IS jihadists are being targeted in Iraq. It then instigates its viewers to pick up arms and wage a war against the people responsible for such crackdowns. It also glorifies the five men responsible for the Gulshan attack. The five attackers — Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Khairul Islam Payel, Shafiqul Islam Uzzal and Meer Saameh Mubasser — launch a blistering attack on the Bangladesh government, seemingly recorded ahead of the Gulshan attack. “No matter how advanced you are in the field of technology or the kind of arms you have, no one will be able to save you from us. I urge all the youth of Bangladesh to pick up arms and wage a war against the kaafir, they do not deserve to live,” Meer Saameh Mubasser is seen saying in the video. On the night of July 1, 2016, over 20 people were killed after they were taken hostage by five Islamic State militants in the Dhaka’s high-security zone of Gulshan. Among the killed were several foreign nationals, including one Indian national. It ends with a song in Bangla, ‘eseche caliphate, jege otho mujaheed’, meaning that the caliphate is here, the warrior must rise for the cause of jihad. This is the second such video released by the Islamic State’s Bangladesh wing. (WION)

Islamic State releases video glorifying Dhaka attackers

Bangladesh police killed the deputy of the Dhaka attack mastermind during a raid on a house in the city&#39;s Rupnagar area .&nbsp; 
 
The militant, identified as the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist organisation Neo-Jama&#39;atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), had helped the mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury to plan the Holey Artisan bakery seige in Dhaka on July 1. 
 
The attack had killed 22 people, including 16 foreigners and an Indian girl. 
 
Detective Branch additional deputy commissioner Sanwar Hossain identified the deceased as &#39;Murad&#39;. He was known as &#39;Major Murad&#39; in the terrorist organisation, police&#39;s counter-terrorism unit chief Monirul Islam said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We raided the house on information that he had rented it,&quot; Hossain was quoted as saying by BD News. 
 
Three policemen, including the officer in charge of the nearby police station, were injured in the gunfight and were being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. 
 
&quot;He (Murad) stabbed police officers when they entered the house. He died after being hit by a bullet during a scuffle that ensued when he tried to flee,&quot; the police official said.&nbsp; 
 
Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the alleged mastermind of the attack, was killed in a house raid in Narayanganj on August 27. 
 
The Islamic State had claimed responsibility of the attack but the Bangladesh police believe that it was a home-grown Islamist organisation that carried it out.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from PTI) 
 
&nbsp;

The militant was killed during a raid on a house in Dhaka's Rupnagar area

Bangladesh police killed the deputy of the Dhaka attack mastermind during a raid on a house in the city's Rupnagar area . The militant, identified as the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist organisation Neo-Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), had helped the mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury to plan the Holey Artisan bakery seige in Dhaka on July 1. The attack had killed 22 people, including 16 foreigners and an Indian girl. Detective Branch additional deputy commissioner Sanwar Hossain identified the deceased as 'Murad'. He was known as 'Major Murad' in the terrorist organisation, police's counter-terrorism unit chief Monirul Islam said. "We raided the house on information that he had rented it," Hossain was quoted as saying by BD News. Three policemen, including the officer in charge of the nearby police station, were injured in the gunfight and were being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. "He (Murad) stabbed police officers when they entered the house. He died after being hit by a bullet during a scuffle that ensued when he tried to flee," the police official said. Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the alleged mastermind of the attack, was killed in a house raid in Narayanganj on August 27. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility of the attack but the Bangladesh police believe that it was a home-grown Islamist organisation that carried it out. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Deputy of Dhaka cafe attack mastermind shot dead

Identities of five dead Dhaka attack perpetrators and the slain chef have been ascertained through DNA tests, police told The Daily Morning Star. 
 
Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal were confirmed as the five attackers, while Saiful Islam was identified as the slain chef. 
 
Investigators said&nbsp;DNA samples were collected during their postmortem. Later, law enforcers collected further DNA samples from family members of the dead attackers. 
 
On July 2, five armed militants had taken over the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan and after an hours-long standoff with Bangladesh security forces, they were gunned down. In total, 29 people were killed, including 20 hostages, during the siege. 
 
Most of the militants belonged to affluent families and were schooled in good institutes.&nbsp; 
 
One suspect, however, had studied in a madrasa in Bogra. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
&nbsp;

Five armed militants had taken over the upscale Holey Artisan cafe in the Bangladeshi capital on July 2 and killed 20 hostages

Identities of five dead Dhaka attack perpetrators and the slain chef have been ascertained through DNA tests, police told The Daily Morning Star. Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal were confirmed as the five attackers, while Saiful Islam was identified as the slain chef. Investigators said DNA samples were collected during their postmortem. Later, law enforcers collected further DNA samples from family members of the dead attackers. On July 2, five armed militants had taken over the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan and after an hours-long standoff with Bangladesh security forces, they were gunned down. In total, 29 people were killed, including 20 hostages, during the siege. Most of the militants belonged to affluent families and were schooled in good institutes. One suspect, however, had studied in a madrasa in Bogra. (WION with inputs from agencies)

DNA tests confirm Dhaka gunmen's identity

Bangladeshi security forces said today they had arrested four women suspected of being members of a home-grown militant group blamed for an attack on a Dhaka cafe last month in which 22 people were killed.&nbsp; 
 
Five young men attacked the upmarket cafe on July 1, an assault claimed by Islamic State.&nbsp; 
 
Three of the attackers were from affluent Dhaka homes who had broken off contact with their families months earlier. Police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, a banned group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group.&nbsp; 
 
The four women were arrested in an overnight raid in the capital, based on information from a regional militant leader who was detained last month, said Rapid Action Battalion spokesman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiya.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Three of them are students of a private university and the other one is working as an intern in the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital,&quot; he told Reuters, adding that jihadi books, audio and video clips of jihadi lectures were seized. More than a dozen suspected JMB militants, including seven women, have been arrested since the cafe attack.&nbsp; 
 
On July 26, police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the country over the past year. The government has dismissed the claims and pinned the blame on domestic militant groups. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
 
 
&nbsp;

The women were arrested in an overnight raid in the capital, based on information from a regional militant leader detained last month

Bangladeshi security forces said today they had arrested four women suspected of being members of a home-grown militant group blamed for an attack on a Dhaka cafe last month in which 22 people were killed. Five young men attacked the upmarket cafe on July 1, an assault claimed by Islamic State. Three of the attackers were from affluent Dhaka homes who had broken off contact with their families months earlier. Police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, a banned group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group. The four women were arrested in an overnight raid in the capital, based on information from a regional militant leader who was detained last month, said Rapid Action Battalion spokesman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiya. "Three of them are students of a private university and the other one is working as an intern in the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital," he told Reuters, adding that jihadi books, audio and video clips of jihadi lectures were seized. More than a dozen suspected JMB militants, including seven women, have been arrested since the cafe attack. On July 26, police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the country over the past year. The government has dismissed the claims and pinned the blame on domestic militant groups. (Reuters)

Dhaka cafe attack: Bangladesh police arrest 4 women

More than a month after the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka sent shockwaves across Bangladesh, two photographs of a British citizen who was at the cafe on the fateful night have surfaced, where he is seen with one of the supected perpetrators.&nbsp; 
 
The photographs show Briton Hasnat Karim, a university teacher, and Canadian university student Tahmid Hasib, along with one of the gunmen, Rohan Imtiaz, who attacked the cafe, Bangladesh newspaper, the Daily Star, has reported. 
 
The report points out Hasnat went to the restaurant with his wife and two children, according to family members, to celebrate the birthday of one of his daughters on July 3 when the bakery was attacked.&nbsp; 
 
The assailants, however, allowed the family to leave, before the siege, said the newspaper report.&nbsp; 
 
In the photographs, the millitant and Tahmid are seen holding firearms while talking with Hasnat at the rooftop of the cafe.&nbsp; 
 
The Daily Star report underlines that Hasnat and Tahmid were granted remand on August 4 for eight days after police sought a 10-day remand for each claiming that they &ldquo;instigated&rdquo; the Gulshan caf? attackers.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The photographs show Briton Hasnat Karim, a university teacher and Canadian student Tahmid Hasib, along with alleged gunman Rohan Imtiaz

More than a month after the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka sent shockwaves across Bangladesh, two photographs of a British citizen who was at the cafe on the fateful night have surfaced, where he is seen with one of the supected perpetrators. The photographs show Briton Hasnat Karim, a university teacher, and Canadian university student Tahmid Hasib, along with one of the gunmen, Rohan Imtiaz, who attacked the cafe, Bangladesh newspaper, the Daily Star, has reported. The report points out Hasnat went to the restaurant with his wife and two children, according to family members, to celebrate the birthday of one of his daughters on July 3 when the bakery was attacked. The assailants, however, allowed the family to leave, before the siege, said the newspaper report. In the photographs, the millitant and Tahmid are seen holding firearms while talking with Hasnat at the rooftop of the cafe. The Daily Star report underlines that Hasnat and Tahmid were granted remand on August 4 for eight days after police sought a 10-day remand for each claiming that they “instigated” the Gulshan caf? attackers. (WION)

British teacher suspected of instigating Dhaka attackers seen with 'terrorist' in new photos: Daily Star

As many as seven Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by police in Indian state of West Bengal for trespassing into the Indian territory on Thursday.&nbsp; 
 
The seven persons were arrested from the Indo-Bangla international border in Bongaon&rsquo;s RS Math area of West Bengal after they failed to produce valid documents.&nbsp; 
 
Officials said three persons, among the seven trespassers, were carrying Indian voter identity card with the same picture but different names and particulars&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We have arrested seven Bangladeshi nationals for illegally trespassing into India. The arrested have been identified as Kamal Sheikh, Rubia Begum, Iqbal Mollah, Md Nasir, Jahidul Sarif, Md Mir Amir, Pannu Sikder. The seven arrested comprise six men and one woman with an infant. All are residents of Faridpur in Bangladesh and their ages range between 19 and 35. We have lodged a case against them,&rdquo; said a senior police of the Bongaon Police Station.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We had intelligence inputs about some people who had come to India from Bangladesh in the last couple days. We have tightened vigil along the border and police stations across the border area have been kept on high alert,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Security arrangements across the border areas have been tightened by the Indian security agencies. The Border Security Force (BSF) and state police have beefed up security to prevent any illegal migration or trespassing into the Indian territory from Bangladesh.&nbsp; 
 
Besides West Bengal, four more states -- &nbsp;Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya --- that share border with the neighbouring country have been kept on high alert following the Dhaka attack last month.&nbsp; 
 
The Indo-Bangla border is 4,096 Kilometre with West Bengal having the highest length with 2,217 Kilometre. 
 
(WION) 
&nbsp;

The seven were arrested in the Indo-Bangla international border region after they failed to produce valid documents

As many as seven Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by police in Indian state of West Bengal for trespassing into the Indian territory on Thursday. The seven persons were arrested from the Indo-Bangla international border in Bongaon’s RS Math area of West Bengal after they failed to produce valid documents. Officials said three persons, among the seven trespassers, were carrying Indian voter identity card with the same picture but different names and particulars “We have arrested seven Bangladeshi nationals for illegally trespassing into India. The arrested have been identified as Kamal Sheikh, Rubia Begum, Iqbal Mollah, Md Nasir, Jahidul Sarif, Md Mir Amir, Pannu Sikder. The seven arrested comprise six men and one woman with an infant. All are residents of Faridpur in Bangladesh and their ages range between 19 and 35. We have lodged a case against them,” said a senior police of the Bongaon Police Station. “We had intelligence inputs about some people who had come to India from Bangladesh in the last couple days. We have tightened vigil along the border and police stations across the border area have been kept on high alert," he added. Security arrangements across the border areas have been tightened by the Indian security agencies. The Border Security Force (BSF) and state police have beefed up security to prevent any illegal migration or trespassing into the Indian territory from Bangladesh. Besides West Bengal, four more states -- Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya --- that share border with the neighbouring country have been kept on high alert following the Dhaka attack last month. The Indo-Bangla border is 4,096 Kilometre with West Bengal having the highest length with 2,217 Kilometre. (WION)

Seven Bangladeshi nationals arrested for illegally trespassing into India

Bangladesh has alerted Indian security agencies that the mastermind of the deadly Dhaka cafe terror attack may have fled to India, amid a nationwide manhunt to track down the Bangladeshi-Canadian, police chief said on Monday. 
 
&quot;We have alerted the Indian security agencies against his (Tamim Chowdhury&#39;s) possible escape to India to evade the arrest,&quot; Bangladesh Police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said. 
 
He said a massive manhunt is underway to track down the Bangladeshi-Canadian Chowdhury since he is suspected to be the mastermind of the recent terrorist attacks in the country. Hoque said during his recent visit to India&#39;s capital New Delhi accompanying home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, he alerted the chiefs of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and CBI against Chowdhury and &quot;Indian security agencies are looking for him as well&quot;. 
 
&quot;Chowdhury could be the key operative of (Syria-based) IS in Bangladesh,&quot; he said, but quickly added that no proof of IS link to the recent terror attacks were found so far, reiterating the government&#39;s stance on the issue. 
 
A newspaper earlier reported that Chowdhury appeared as the leader and main financier of a reorganised Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while Bangladesh earlier attributed the two attacks to the outfit. 
 
Hoque, however, said a reconstituted JMB, which he preferred to call &quot;neo-JMB&quot;, was identifying them as IS operatives in Bangladesh. A senior officer at the police headquarters supplemented Hoque, saying the new outfit, mostly led by close relatives of the original outfit, adopted a revised philosophy for the outfit three years ago which was inclined to that of IS. 
 
Independent security analysts earlier said JMB or neo-JMB was inclined towards ISIS while another banned outfit called Ansarullah Bangla Team was ideologically linked to al-Qaeda. The police chief s comments came days after Bangladesh identified Chowdhury as the mastermind of the July 1 terrorist attack on a Dhaka cafe. 
 
Police earlier this week said a security raid on a terror hideout last week provided them the clue to detect him as the architect of the recent Islamist assaults adding that he returned home from Canada three years ago. 
 
A police officer familiar with the investigation earlier said evidence gathered from the scene of the July 26 overnight security raid at Dhaka s Kalyanpur area, when nine presumed militants were killed, led police to identify Chowdhury, believed to be in his mid 30s. 
 
The July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan restaurant left 22 people, including an Indian girl and two police officers, dead, while the July 6 assault on an Eid congregation at northern Sholakia killed 2 policemen and a woman. The family members of the five militants, who were shot dead in a gunfight with security forces at the Artisan, have not come forward to claim their bodies. 
 
(PTI)

The country's police chief says the Bangladeshi-Canadian Tamim Chowdhury could be 'the key' IS operative in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has alerted Indian security agencies that the mastermind of the deadly Dhaka cafe terror attack may have fled to India, amid a nationwide manhunt to track down the Bangladeshi-Canadian, police chief said on Monday. "We have alerted the Indian security agencies against his (Tamim Chowdhury's) possible escape to India to evade the arrest," Bangladesh Police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said. He said a massive manhunt is underway to track down the Bangladeshi-Canadian Chowdhury since he is suspected to be the mastermind of the recent terrorist attacks in the country. Hoque said during his recent visit to India's capital New Delhi accompanying home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, he alerted the chiefs of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and CBI against Chowdhury and "Indian security agencies are looking for him as well". "Chowdhury could be the key operative of (Syria-based) IS in Bangladesh," he said, but quickly added that no proof of IS link to the recent terror attacks were found so far, reiterating the government's stance on the issue. A newspaper earlier reported that Chowdhury appeared as the leader and main financier of a reorganised Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while Bangladesh earlier attributed the two attacks to the outfit. Hoque, however, said a reconstituted JMB, which he preferred to call "neo-JMB", was identifying them as IS operatives in Bangladesh. A senior officer at the police headquarters supplemented Hoque, saying the new outfit, mostly led by close relatives of the original outfit, adopted a revised philosophy for the outfit three years ago which was inclined to that of IS. Independent security analysts earlier said JMB or neo-JMB was inclined towards ISIS while another banned outfit called Ansarullah Bangla Team was ideologically linked to al-Qaeda. The police chief s comments came days after Bangladesh identified Chowdhury as the mastermind of the July 1 terrorist attack on a Dhaka cafe. Police earlier this week said a security raid on a terror hideout last week provided them the clue to detect him as the architect of the recent Islamist assaults adding that he returned home from Canada three years ago. A police officer familiar with the investigation earlier said evidence gathered from the scene of the July 26 overnight security raid at Dhaka s Kalyanpur area, when nine presumed militants were killed, led police to identify Chowdhury, believed to be in his mid 30s. The July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan restaurant left 22 people, including an Indian girl and two police officers, dead, while the July 6 assault on an Eid congregation at northern Sholakia killed 2 policemen and a woman. The family members of the five militants, who were shot dead in a gunfight with security forces at the Artisan, have not come forward to claim their bodies. (PTI)

Suspected mastermind of Dhaka cafe attack may have slipped into India, warns Bangladesh

A Bangladeshi-American was among the nine suspected Islamists killed in a fierce gunbattle during a raid on their hideout in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, by police which claimed to have foiled a mass terror attack bid, authorities said. Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the suspects&rsquo; national ID cards and fingerprints were used to identify seven of the nine slain militants. 
 
Those identified are Abdullah (23), Abu Hakim Nayeem (24), Motiur Rahman, Zobayer Hossain (22), Taj-ul-Haque Rashik (24), Akifuzzaman Khan (24) and Shehzad Rauf Arka. Shehzad was a US passport holder, police said. 
 
The youth, &lsquo;missing&rsquo; since February, had been a friend of dead Dhaka cafe attacker Nibras Islam, Bdnews24.com reported. They had studied at Monash University&rsquo;s Malaysia campus. 
 
Nibras had been staying in Jhenaidah with nine other youths. Police suspect Shehzad had been with Nibras there. Police said the nine terrorists were killed while one was captured alive during the operation codenamed &lsquo;Storm 26&prime;. 
 
Officers believe the nine slain extremists were part of the same group that killed 22 people during an attack on an upscale Dhaka cafe on July 1, an attack claimed by IS. Police said they recovered IS&rsquo; black flag and robes from the Dhaka hideout, but maintained that the extremists are actually members of the domestic Islamist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh. 
 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the raid was carried out on intelligence reports that the terrorists were preparing for an attack. Dhaka&rsquo;s police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia had said that terrorists were &ldquo;highly educated&rdquo;. 
 
Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of deadly attacks by Islamist extremists. 22 people, including an Indian girl, were killed and around 30 others injured by suspected ISIS militants inside a cafe in Dhaka in the worst terror attack in Bangladesh. The government, however, maintains that the home grown militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was behind the attack. 
 
(PTI)

Bangladeshi-born Shehzad, ?missing? since February, had been a friend of dead Dhaka cafe attacker Nibras Islam, media reported

A Bangladeshi-American was among the nine suspected Islamists killed in a fierce gunbattle during a raid on their hideout in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, by police which claimed to have foiled a mass terror attack bid, authorities said. Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the suspects’ national ID cards and fingerprints were used to identify seven of the nine slain militants. Those identified are Abdullah (23), Abu Hakim Nayeem (24), Motiur Rahman, Zobayer Hossain (22), Taj-ul-Haque Rashik (24), Akifuzzaman Khan (24) and Shehzad Rauf Arka. Shehzad was a US passport holder, police said. The youth, ‘missing’ since February, had been a friend of dead Dhaka cafe attacker Nibras Islam, Bdnews24.com reported. They had studied at Monash University’s Malaysia campus. Nibras had been staying in Jhenaidah with nine other youths. Police suspect Shehzad had been with Nibras there. Police said the nine terrorists were killed while one was captured alive during the operation codenamed ‘Storm 26′. Officers believe the nine slain extremists were part of the same group that killed 22 people during an attack on an upscale Dhaka cafe on July 1, an attack claimed by IS. Police said they recovered IS’ black flag and robes from the Dhaka hideout, but maintained that the extremists are actually members of the domestic Islamist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the raid was carried out on intelligence reports that the terrorists were preparing for an attack. Dhaka’s police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia had said that terrorists were “highly educated”. Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of deadly attacks by Islamist extremists. 22 people, including an Indian girl, were killed and around 30 others injured by suspected ISIS militants inside a cafe in Dhaka in the worst terror attack in Bangladesh. The government, however, maintains that the home grown militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was behind the attack. (PTI)

US citizen among suspected militants killed in Bangladesh

The nine militants that were killed in a special drive by joint forces in Dhaka were all very young and &#39;highly educated&#39; and they shouted &quot;Allahu Akbar&quot; before attacking the law enforcers during the standoff, officials said.&nbsp; 
 
The militants were aged about 20, wore jeans and sneakers and were highly educated, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and added that &quot;Allahu Akbar&quot; inscribed black flags were recovered from the den. Thirteen handmade grenades, one sword, one pistol, seven magazines and were also recovered. 
 
SWAT, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch of police (DB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) jointly carried out a one-hour operation &quot;Storm 26,&quot; at Jahaj Building in Dhaka&#39;s Kalyanpur area today. The militants had rented the apartment on June 20 and had gathered there to carry out terror attacks, said officials. 
 
The occupants of the building and adjacent ones were evacuated overnight to carry out the raid. A militant identified as Hassan, who was held alive during the drive, has reportedly confessed to be an operative of the Islamic State and was a student of Bogra&#39;s Government Shah Sultan College. However, the police suspects they are members of the banned militant outfit Jama&#39;atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who were trying to wield the emblem of the Islamic State. 
 
The DMP Commissioner added that police suspect these attackers belong to the same group that attacked the Gulshan cafe because similar kind of red handkerchiefs, black dresses and backpacks were found.&nbsp; 
 
(ANI)

It is suspected millitants were members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, who were trying to wield the IS emblem

The nine militants that were killed in a special drive by joint forces in Dhaka were all very young and 'highly educated' and they shouted "Allahu Akbar" before attacking the law enforcers during the standoff, officials said. The militants were aged about 20, wore jeans and sneakers and were highly educated, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and added that "Allahu Akbar" inscribed black flags were recovered from the den. Thirteen handmade grenades, one sword, one pistol, seven magazines and were also recovered. SWAT, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch of police (DB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) jointly carried out a one-hour operation "Storm 26," at Jahaj Building in Dhaka's Kalyanpur area today. The militants had rented the apartment on June 20 and had gathered there to carry out terror attacks, said officials. The occupants of the building and adjacent ones were evacuated overnight to carry out the raid. A militant identified as Hassan, who was held alive during the drive, has reportedly confessed to be an operative of the Islamic State and was a student of Bogra's Government Shah Sultan College. However, the police suspects they are members of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who were trying to wield the emblem of the Islamic State. The DMP Commissioner added that police suspect these attackers belong to the same group that attacked the Gulshan cafe because similar kind of red handkerchiefs, black dresses and backpacks were found. (ANI)

Bangladesh raid: 'Slain militants were young and highly educated'

Police in Bangladesh arrested today four women members of a home-grown militant group blamed for a bloody attack on a cafe in which 22 were killed, most of them foreigners, an officer said.&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, Bangladesh newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted the Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia as stating that the &quot;instigators of the Gulshan caf? attack have been identified and their arrest is now simply a matter of time&quot;. The police chief reportedly said this to reporters in his office this afternoon. 
 
Authorities have intensified a hunt for militants after five young men stormed the upmarket restaurant, Holey Artisan Bakery, popular with foreigners on July 1. Among those killed were nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian. 
 
The five militants were gunned down when security forces moved in. 
 
Police believe that Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group of privileged, educated young men who carried out the attack. 
 
The four women members of the group, aged 18 to 30, who were arrested in from the northwestern district of Sirajganj in Bangladesh, were believed to have been plotting an attack, police said. 
 
&quot;Acting on a tip-off, our force raided a rented house where a large amount of grenade-making materials, crude bombs and jihadi books were also found,&quot; district police superintendent Siraj Uddin Ahmed told reporters. 
 
The women would be interrogated to determine if they had any link to the Dhaka cafe attack, he said. 
 
On Thursday, four other members of the banned group, including a regional head, were arrested. 
 
The cafe attack was one of the worst militant attacks ever in Bangladesh. 
 
Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the country over the past year. 
 
The government dismissed the claims and instead blamed domestic militant groups, but security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe assault suggested links to a trans-national network. 
 
(WION and Reuters)

Aged between 18-30, they were plotting an attack and were members of Jamayetul Mujahideen that has pledged allegiance to IS, police said

Police in Bangladesh arrested today four women members of a home-grown militant group blamed for a bloody attack on a cafe in which 22 were killed, most of them foreigners, an officer said. Meanwhile, Bangladesh newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted the Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia as stating that the "instigators of the Gulshan caf? attack have been identified and their arrest is now simply a matter of time". The police chief reportedly said this to reporters in his office this afternoon. Authorities have intensified a hunt for militants after five young men stormed the upmarket restaurant, Holey Artisan Bakery, popular with foreigners on July 1. Among those killed were nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian. The five militants were gunned down when security forces moved in. Police believe that Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group of privileged, educated young men who carried out the attack. The four women members of the group, aged 18 to 30, who were arrested in from the northwestern district of Sirajganj in Bangladesh, were believed to have been plotting an attack, police said. "Acting on a tip-off, our force raided a rented house where a large amount of grenade-making materials, crude bombs and jihadi books were also found," district police superintendent Siraj Uddin Ahmed told reporters. The women would be interrogated to determine if they had any link to the Dhaka cafe attack, he said. On Thursday, four other members of the banned group, including a regional head, were arrested. The cafe attack was one of the worst militant attacks ever in Bangladesh. Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the country over the past year. The government dismissed the claims and instead blamed domestic militant groups, but security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe assault suggested links to a trans-national network. (WION and Reuters)

Bangladesh arrests four women militants, to quiz them in Dhaka cafe attack

Indian Prime Minister Narendra&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;on Thursday jointly inaugurated a border check post with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh&nbsp;Hasina&nbsp;through video conferencing and iterated the country&#39;s support to its neighbour in its anti-terror fight.

The Petrapole Integrated Check Post (ICP) in India&#39;s eastern West Bengal state is the second ICP on the India-Bangladesh border after one at the Agartala - Akhaura border. It is also the biggest land port in South Asia.

Inaugurating the ICP,&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;pitched for concerted efforts to curb militancy.

&quot;You (Bangladesh) shouldn&#39;t consider yourself alone in the fight against militancy. India completely supports you. I also want to assure Prime Minister Sheikh&nbsp;Hasina&nbsp;that India is always ready for all possible support in the fight against militancy,&quot;&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;said. 
 
Bangladeshi newpaper The Daily Star quoted Modi as saying&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;It&#39;s a matter of pain for me as well as for the people of my country that there were two terror incidents in Dhaka and Kishoreganj during the holy month of Ramadan. It&#39;s a sad moment when temples and their priests as also civilians were subjected to inhumane torture.&quot; 
 
Bangladesh&#39;s security forces arrested four members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) on Thursday, including a regional leader of the banned group blamed for the Islamist attack on a cafe in Dhaka in which at least 20 people were killed.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided an apartment on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka and arrested the group&#39;s southern region leader and three other members, including a medical student.

Modi&nbsp;also assured more check posts to check cross-border terrorism.

&quot;We will soon complete eight such integrated check posts on the border. Excellency, I firmly believe that economic development and connectivity are closely linked,&quot; he said.

Hasina&nbsp;added that the ICP would boost trade and people-to-people contacts.

&quot;As business between the two countries grows, the economic well-being of the people will also improve substantially. So after congratulating everybody, I wish business and trade will get a fillip through Petrapole Integrated Check Post,&quot; she said. 
 
According to the Daily Star, West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee-&nbsp;who was also a part of the videoconference-&nbsp;said that West Bengal is the gateway to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.&nbsp;

Petrapole-Benapole is an important land border crossing as more than 50 per cent of India-Bangladesh trade passes through Petrapole.

The Petrapole ICP will provide better facilities for effective and efficient discharge of functions such as security, immigration, customs, quarantine, etc. while also providing support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods and transport.

It will also serve to foster greater economic integration and connectivity between India and Bangladesh. 
 
(Others)

The two ministers spoke to each other while jointly inaugurating a border check post over videoconferencing on Thursday

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday jointly inaugurated a border check post with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina through video conferencing and iterated the country's support to its neighbour in its anti-terror fight. The Petrapole Integrated Check Post (ICP) in India's eastern West Bengal state is the second ICP on the India-Bangladesh border after one at the Agartala - Akhaura border. It is also the biggest land port in South Asia. Inaugurating the ICP, Modi pitched for concerted efforts to curb militancy. "You (Bangladesh) shouldn't consider yourself alone in the fight against militancy. India completely supports you. I also want to assure Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that India is always ready for all possible support in the fight against militancy," Modi said. Bangladeshi newpaper The Daily Star quoted Modi as saying “It's a matter of pain for me as well as for the people of my country that there were two terror incidents in Dhaka and Kishoreganj during the holy month of Ramadan. It's a sad moment when temples and their priests as also civilians were subjected to inhumane torture." Bangladesh's security forces arrested four members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) on Thursday, including a regional leader of the banned group blamed for the Islamist attack on a cafe in Dhaka in which at least 20 people were killed. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided an apartment on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka and arrested the group's southern region leader and three other members, including a medical student. Modi also assured more check posts to check cross-border terrorism. "We will soon complete eight such integrated check posts on the border. Excellency, I firmly believe that economic development and connectivity are closely linked," he said. Hasina added that the ICP would boost trade and people-to-people contacts. "As business between the two countries grows, the economic well-being of the people will also improve substantially. So after congratulating everybody, I wish business and trade will get a fillip through Petrapole Integrated Check Post," she said. According to the Daily Star, West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee- who was also a part of the videoconference- said that West Bengal is the gateway to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Petrapole-Benapole is an important land border crossing as more than 50 per cent of India-Bangladesh trade passes through Petrapole. The Petrapole ICP will provide better facilities for effective and efficient discharge of functions such as security, immigration, customs, quarantine, etc. while also providing support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods and transport. It will also serve to foster greater economic integration and connectivity between India and Bangladesh. (Others)

Do not consider yourself alone in fight against militancy: Modi to Hasina

Bangladesh&#39;s elite security force said today it had arrested four members, including the top regional head, of the homegrown Islamist extremist group blamed for an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were murdered. 
 
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers stormed a flat in an apartment building in the industrial town of Tongi, just north of the capital Dhaka, and arrested four members of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). 
 
&quot;Among them was Mahmudul Hasan, the southern regional head of the JMB. He is a top militant trainer,&quot; RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told reporters. 
 
Police recovered hand-made bombs and bomb-making materials from the house, indicating the militants &quot;were planning to carry out an act of sabotage,&quot; he said. 
 
Bangladesh&#39;s government has blamed JMB for the July 1 attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka&#39;s Gulshan neighbourhood in which 20 hostages, including 18 foreigners, were shot and slaughtered. 
 
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Gulshan attack, releasing photos of the carnage and of the five men who carried out the deadly assault. 
 
Bangladeshi authorities rejected the claim, saying international jihadist networks have no presence in the world&#39;s third largest Muslim majority nation. 
 
But national police chief Shahidul Hoque said recently that authorities were investigating whether the Gulshan attackers had any international connections. 
 
RAB spokesman Khan said officers were probing whether Hasan and the three other detained JMB operatives, including a medical student, had played a role in the Gulshan attack. 
 
&quot;They will be questioned,&quot; he said. 
 
Hasan-trained militants were responsible for the murder of a police constable and deadly bomb attack at the nation&#39;s most respected Shiite shrine in Dhaka late last year, he added. 
 
Bangladesh has been reeling from a deadly wave of attacks in the last three years. 
 
The government and police say homegrown extremists are responsible for the deaths of some 80 secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. 
 
Both IS and a branch of al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. 
 
Critics say Hasina&#39;s administration is in denial about the nature of the threat posed by Islamist extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic political opponents. 
 
Last month, authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000 people, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence opposition. 
 
(AFP)

Hand-made bombs were recovered from the house of the militants of the homegrown Islamist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh

Bangladesh's elite security force said today it had arrested four members, including the top regional head, of the homegrown Islamist extremist group blamed for an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were murdered. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers stormed a flat in an apartment building in the industrial town of Tongi, just north of the capital Dhaka, and arrested four members of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). "Among them was Mahmudul Hasan, the southern regional head of the JMB. He is a top militant trainer," RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told reporters. Police recovered hand-made bombs and bomb-making materials from the house, indicating the militants "were planning to carry out an act of sabotage," he said. Bangladesh's government has blamed JMB for the July 1 attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan neighbourhood in which 20 hostages, including 18 foreigners, were shot and slaughtered. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Gulshan attack, releasing photos of the carnage and of the five men who carried out the deadly assault. Bangladeshi authorities rejected the claim, saying international jihadist networks have no presence in the world's third largest Muslim majority nation. But national police chief Shahidul Hoque said recently that authorities were investigating whether the Gulshan attackers had any international connections. RAB spokesman Khan said officers were probing whether Hasan and the three other detained JMB operatives, including a medical student, had played a role in the Gulshan attack. "They will be questioned," he said. Hasan-trained militants were responsible for the murder of a police constable and deadly bomb attack at the nation's most respected Shiite shrine in Dhaka late last year, he added. Bangladesh has been reeling from a deadly wave of attacks in the last three years. The government and police say homegrown extremists are responsible for the deaths of some 80 secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. Both IS and a branch of al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. Critics say Hasina's administration is in denial about the nature of the threat posed by Islamist extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic political opponents. Last month, authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000 people, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence opposition. (AFP)

Bangladesh security forces arrest 4 Islamist extremists for alleged involvement in Dhaka attack

Police in Dhaka on Saturday arrested three people, including a university professor, for failing to register information about tenants renting a property who later attacked a cafe in the city, killing 20 people. 
 
Earlier this year, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued an order to all apartment owners to provide details of their tenants for a database to help police crack down on criminals and militants using rented accommodation as hideouts. 
 
Gias Uddin Ahsan, a professor at North South University in Dhaka, his nephew, and the manager of Ahsan&#39;s apartment were arrested by DMP for failing to comply with rules forcing landlords to register information about their tenants with the police, Mohammad Masudur Rahman, a senior police official told Reuters. 
 
The men will appear in court today, he said. 
 
Five militants who were killed by police after they stormed the cafe on July 1 had rented the apartment along with another person in a nearby residential area in May and started living there from June, Rahman said. 
 
&quot;From here they attacked the cafe. There were other militants also who fled after the attack,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;We also found evidence that they kept grenades and other explosives in the apartment. If we had been informed they were living there, then that brutal killing would not have been possible and we could also have arrested the other militants who fled.&quot; 
 
Bangladesh has suffered a series of attacks on liberal and secular bloggers, LGBT rights activists, university teachers and members of religious minorities over the past year. The government says two domestic militant groups trying to replace secular democracy with Islamic sharia rule are responsible for the violence. 
 
Twenty people including 18 foreigners were killed before police stormed the cafe, rescued 13 hostages and shot five of the attackers dead. 
 
Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Saturday that investigators had identified the masterminds of the attack and that the remaining perpetrators would soon be arrested. 
 
Some of the assailants had attended prestigious schools or universities and had been reported missing, according to the police. One was the son of a politician. 
 
(Reuters)

The landlords failed to register information about their tenants with police, a new law enacted earlier this year to help catch criminals

Police in Dhaka on Saturday arrested three people, including a university professor, for failing to register information about tenants renting a property who later attacked a cafe in the city, killing 20 people. Earlier this year, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued an order to all apartment owners to provide details of their tenants for a database to help police crack down on criminals and militants using rented accommodation as hideouts. Gias Uddin Ahsan, a professor at North South University in Dhaka, his nephew, and the manager of Ahsan's apartment were arrested by DMP for failing to comply with rules forcing landlords to register information about their tenants with the police, Mohammad Masudur Rahman, a senior police official told Reuters. The men will appear in court today, he said. Five militants who were killed by police after they stormed the cafe on July 1 had rented the apartment along with another person in a nearby residential area in May and started living there from June, Rahman said. "From here they attacked the cafe. There were other militants also who fled after the attack," he said. "We also found evidence that they kept grenades and other explosives in the apartment. If we had been informed they were living there, then that brutal killing would not have been possible and we could also have arrested the other militants who fled." Bangladesh has suffered a series of attacks on liberal and secular bloggers, LGBT rights activists, university teachers and members of religious minorities over the past year. The government says two domestic militant groups trying to replace secular democracy with Islamic sharia rule are responsible for the violence. Twenty people including 18 foreigners were killed before police stormed the cafe, rescued 13 hostages and shot five of the attackers dead. Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Saturday that investigators had identified the masterminds of the attack and that the remaining perpetrators would soon be arrested. Some of the assailants had attended prestigious schools or universities and had been reported missing, according to the police. One was the son of a politician. (Reuters)

Bangladesh police arrest three who rented property to cafe attackers

No one has come foward to claim the bodies of the six Dhaka caf? attackers that are at the Combined Military Hospital mortuary, Bangladesh newspaper,&nbsp;The Daily Star, reported. 
 
Five of the&nbsp;terrorists&nbsp;have been identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam. The sixth dead body is still unidentified. 
 
The newspaper cited police sources to say that so far only the family of one slain militant, Saiful Islam, has asked for his body.&nbsp;The police, however,&nbsp;are yet to receive a&nbsp;written application, said the report. Saiful Islam worked as a chef in the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka&#39;s Gulshan neighbourhood where the terror attack took place. He was named as one of the accused in the formal police report of the terror attack.

The terrorists killed 22, mostly foreigners,&nbsp;after storming the bakery in Dhaka&#39;s diplomatic zone and taking the diners hostage on July 1.

The six terrorists were killed during the hostage crisis incident. 
 
(WION)

Barring one dead, no family member of the other five have claimed their bodies

No one has come foward to claim the bodies of the six Dhaka caf? attackers that are at the Combined Military Hospital mortuary, Bangladesh newspaper, The Daily Star, reported. Five of the terrorists have been identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam. The sixth dead body is still unidentified. The newspaper cited police sources to say that so far only the family of one slain militant, Saiful Islam, has asked for his body. The police, however, are yet to receive a written application, said the report. Saiful Islam worked as a chef in the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan neighbourhood where the terror attack took place. He was named as one of the accused in the formal police report of the terror attack. The terrorists killed 22, mostly foreigners, after storming the bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic zone and taking the diners hostage on July 1. The six terrorists were killed during the hostage crisis incident. (WION)

Dhaka cafe attackers' bodies still at military hospital mortuary

Members of Shia National Front took to the streets in Lucknow city of India&#39;s northern Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday demanding a ban on Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, for allegedly propagating extremism. 
 
The protesters alleged that Naik spewed venom against all religions in his speeches and was misguiding people. 
 
Naik has come in the line of fire following revelations that one of the attackers involved in the assault in a restaurant in Dhaka last week was influenced by his speeches. 
 
Shia cleric, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, claimed that Naik wanted every Muslim to become Osama bin Laden. 
 
&quot;Zakir Naik has no relation with Islam. He quotes verses from Quran and Geeta but that is to fool people and mislead the youth. I urge the Indian government to ban Peace TV and probe the source of his wealth to find out who is funding him,&quot; said Abbas. 
 
He added that he had met India&#39;s interior minister seeking an immediate ban on Naik. 
 
According to a national daily of Bangladesh, an attacker, Rohan Imtiaz, the son of a politician of the&nbsp;country&#39;s ruling Awami League, had even written a post on Facebook last year quoting Naik. 
 
Six gunmen stormed a restaurant in Dhaka&#39;s diplomatic zone late on July 1 and killed 20 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the United States, in an assault claimed by Islamic State. 
 
It was one of the deadliest militant attacks to date in Bangladesh. 
 
Naik&#39;s speeches are broadcast across the Indian sub-continent through his Peace TV with a viewership of at least 100 million, said media reports. 
 
Naik already faces a ban in the United Kingdom, Canada and Malaysia. He has made several controversial statements in the past. In a statement from 2006, Naik was caught on camera telling Muslims it was acceptable to embrace terrorism in certain instances. 
 
The radical preacher had also supported once dreaded militant Osama bin Laden in one of his speeches. Naik is also of the idea that homosexuals should be killed. 
 
(Reuters)

One of the attackers involved in the Dhaka siege had reportedly quoted Naik in a Facebook post about a year ago

Members of Shia National Front took to the streets in Lucknow city of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday demanding a ban on Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, for allegedly propagating extremism. The protesters alleged that Naik spewed venom against all religions in his speeches and was misguiding people. Naik has come in the line of fire following revelations that one of the attackers involved in the assault in a restaurant in Dhaka last week was influenced by his speeches. Shia cleric, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, claimed that Naik wanted every Muslim to become Osama bin Laden. "Zakir Naik has no relation with Islam. He quotes verses from Quran and Geeta but that is to fool people and mislead the youth. I urge the Indian government to ban Peace TV and probe the source of his wealth to find out who is funding him," said Abbas. He added that he had met India's interior minister seeking an immediate ban on Naik. According to a national daily of Bangladesh, an attacker, Rohan Imtiaz, the son of a politician of the country's ruling Awami League, had even written a post on Facebook last year quoting Naik. Six gunmen stormed a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone late on July 1 and killed 20 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the United States, in an assault claimed by Islamic State. It was one of the deadliest militant attacks to date in Bangladesh. Naik's speeches are broadcast across the Indian sub-continent through his Peace TV with a viewership of at least 100 million, said media reports. Naik already faces a ban in the United Kingdom, Canada and Malaysia. He has made several controversial statements in the past. In a statement from 2006, Naik was caught on camera telling Muslims it was acceptable to embrace terrorism in certain instances. The radical preacher had also supported once dreaded militant Osama bin Laden in one of his speeches. Naik is also of the idea that homosexuals should be killed. (Reuters)

Shia Muslims in Northern India seek ban on controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik

A Bangladeshi teenager who police say was a suspect in last week&#39;s deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe has died in custody, with his family insisting he was a hostage and alleging torture by security forces. 
 
Zakir Hossain Shawon, 18, a kitchen assistant at the Holey Artisan Bakery, was arrested after last week&#39;s deadly siege by suspected Islamists in which 22 people, including 18 foreigners, died. 
 
Police killed five attackers and arrested Shawon together with another man over &quot;suspicious activities&quot;, treating him as a suspect -- a claim vehemently rejected by his family, who claim he was taken hostage like other victims. 
 
He died in the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital late Friday after five days in the clinic, police and his family said. 
 
Shawon&#39;s father Abdus Sattar demanded an investigation into his death, saying his &quot;innocent son and the main breadwinner of his family&quot; died due to torture. 
 
&quot;His whole body had marks of torture. There were marks of curdled blood in many places. One of his eyes and two knees were blackened. His wrists were blackened. It seems he was hanged by ropes tied to his wrists,&quot; Sattar told AFP. 
 
Nur Khan Liton, the head of Ain o Salish Kendra, a leading human rights group, said there were doubts about Shawon`s involvement in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. 
 
&quot;IS has named five attackers and police have identified all five. And he was not among the five,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;If he was treated as an associate or helper of the attacker, police must present evidence or information.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Police and military representatives denied that Shawon had been tortured in custody. 
 
&quot;He was held because of suspicious activities. We did not have any opportunity to interrogate him since he was injured and hospitalised,&quot; Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP. 
 
The teenager`s father said he spoke with his son hours before the July 1 carnage when Shawon called to say he had received a bonus payment for Eid al-Fitr, the largest Muslim festival.&nbsp; 
 
He had planned to travel home to celebrate the occasion with the family in Dhaka`s suburb.&nbsp;Instead his family saw him in hospital. 
 
&quot;He could not recognise me or his mother and thought we were his brother,&quot; the father said.&nbsp;&quot;He would cry out in his sleep, pleading with someone, &quot;Please don&#39;t hit me. Let me go,&quot; he added. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Parents insist on his innocence, and a human rights group say police have identified all five suspects and that he is not among them

A Bangladeshi teenager who police say was a suspect in last week's deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe has died in custody, with his family insisting he was a hostage and alleging torture by security forces. Zakir Hossain Shawon, 18, a kitchen assistant at the Holey Artisan Bakery, was arrested after last week's deadly siege by suspected Islamists in which 22 people, including 18 foreigners, died. Police killed five attackers and arrested Shawon together with another man over "suspicious activities", treating him as a suspect -- a claim vehemently rejected by his family, who claim he was taken hostage like other victims. He died in the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital late Friday after five days in the clinic, police and his family said. Shawon's father Abdus Sattar demanded an investigation into his death, saying his "innocent son and the main breadwinner of his family" died due to torture. "His whole body had marks of torture. There were marks of curdled blood in many places. One of his eyes and two knees were blackened. His wrists were blackened. It seems he was hanged by ropes tied to his wrists," Sattar told AFP. Nur Khan Liton, the head of Ain o Salish Kendra, a leading human rights group, said there were doubts about Shawon`s involvement in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. "IS has named five attackers and police have identified all five. And he was not among the five," he said. "If he was treated as an associate or helper of the attacker, police must present evidence or information." Police and military representatives denied that Shawon had been tortured in custody. "He was held because of suspicious activities. We did not have any opportunity to interrogate him since he was injured and hospitalised," Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP. The teenager`s father said he spoke with his son hours before the July 1 carnage when Shawon called to say he had received a bonus payment for Eid al-Fitr, the largest Muslim festival. He had planned to travel home to celebrate the occasion with the family in Dhaka`s suburb. Instead his family saw him in hospital. "He could not recognise me or his mother and thought we were his brother," the father said. "He would cry out in his sleep, pleading with someone, "Please don't hit me. Let me go," he added. (AFP)

Dhaka cafe attack suspect dies in custody, family alleges police torture

A pizza chef killed during a militant attack on a cafe where he worked in Bangladesh&#39;s capital city last week was probably in league with the assailants, police said on Wednesday. 
 
Saiful Islam Chowkidar carried no arms but was seen &quot;moving and running&quot; with the five gunmen during the 12-hour stand-off, Monirul Islam, the chief of counter-terrorism police, said. 
 
On Friday, at least five Bangladeshi men had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with foreigners, businessmen and diplomats and killed 20 customers, including Italians, Japanese, Indians and Americans. 
 
On Tuesday, police said Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was &quot;not accidental&quot;, although police were unsure how he died and the role he played. 
 
&quot;At one point they (militants) tried to escape. They came out running and started firing, the chef was with them,&quot; Islam told reporters. &quot;He is a suspect member of this group.&quot; 
 
Two other suspects being treated in hospital were also employees of the cafe, police said. One worked as a delivery man and the other in the kitchen. 
 
&quot;Before the final operations, their movement was suspicious,&quot; Islam said. 
 
The attack was one of the deadliest ever in Bangladesh, where the Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. The government has dismissed those claims and insists that the violence is homegrown. 
 
The gunmen were mostly from well-to-do families and police gave their names as: Nibras Islam, 20; Rohan Imtiaz, 20; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19; Khairul Islam, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 26. 
 
Their attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh&#39;s 160 million people. 
 
Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups. 
 
But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame. 
 
&quot;We have confirmed these attacks were by JMB,&quot; Islam said. 
 
Meanwhile, Islamic State warned that attacks would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what is to come. 
 
&quot;What you witnessed in Bangladesh ... was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world,&quot; said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site. 
 
The video began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the United States that the Middle East-based militants have claimed. 
 
Bengali said Bangladesh must know that it was now part of a bigger battlefield to establish the cross-border &quot;caliphate&quot; the group proclaimed in 2014. 
 
Police said they were stepping up security in response to the video threat. 
 
(Reuters)

Saiful Islam carried no arms but was seen 'moving and running' with the five gunmen, said the chief of counter-terrorism police

A pizza chef killed during a militant attack on a cafe where he worked in Bangladesh's capital city last week was probably in league with the assailants, police said on Wednesday. Saiful Islam Chowkidar carried no arms but was seen "moving and running" with the five gunmen during the 12-hour stand-off, Monirul Islam, the chief of counter-terrorism police, said. On Friday, at least five Bangladeshi men had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with foreigners, businessmen and diplomats and killed 20 customers, including Italians, Japanese, Indians and Americans. On Tuesday, police said Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was "not accidental", although police were unsure how he died and the role he played. "At one point they (militants) tried to escape. They came out running and started firing, the chef was with them," Islam told reporters. "He is a suspect member of this group." Two other suspects being treated in hospital were also employees of the cafe, police said. One worked as a delivery man and the other in the kitchen. "Before the final operations, their movement was suspicious," Islam said. The attack was one of the deadliest ever in Bangladesh, where the Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. The government has dismissed those claims and insists that the violence is homegrown. The gunmen were mostly from well-to-do families and police gave their names as: Nibras Islam, 20; Rohan Imtiaz, 20; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19; Khairul Islam, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 26. Their attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh's 160 million people. Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups. But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame. "We have confirmed these attacks were by JMB," Islam said. Meanwhile, Islamic State warned that attacks would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what is to come. "What you witnessed in Bangladesh ... was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world," said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site. The video began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the United States that the Middle East-based militants have claimed. Bengali said Bangladesh must know that it was now part of a bigger battlefield to establish the cross-border "caliphate" the group proclaimed in 2014. Police said they were stepping up security in response to the video threat. (Reuters)

Holey Artisan chef was probably working with attackers: Bangladesh police

The bodies of nine Italians killed by Islamist militants who stormed an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital last week were brought to Rome in a military plane on Tuesday. 
 
Most of the 20 victims of the attack, which started late on Friday night, were foreigners from Japan, India and the United States as well as Italy. 
 
Italian President Sergio Mattarella cut short a visit to Latin America after the attack and returned to Rome, where he waited for the arrival of the plane with Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. 
 
Nine coffins, draped in the Italian flag, were lowered from the plane and white-robed priests sprinkled them with Catholic holy water as the victims&#39; families looked on. 
 
The Holey Artisan restaurant in Dhaka where the attack took place is popular with foreigners, and investigators in Rome are looking into whether Italians were specifically targeted, a judicial source said. 
 
Autopsies will be carried out on the Italian victims. 
 
(Reuters)

Most of the 20 victims of the attack were foreigners from Japan, India, the United States and Italy

The bodies of nine Italians killed by Islamist militants who stormed an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital last week were brought to Rome in a military plane on Tuesday. Most of the 20 victims of the attack, which started late on Friday night, were foreigners from Japan, India and the United States as well as Italy. Italian President Sergio Mattarella cut short a visit to Latin America after the attack and returned to Rome, where he waited for the arrival of the plane with Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Nine coffins, draped in the Italian flag, were lowered from the plane and white-robed priests sprinkled them with Catholic holy water as the victims' families looked on. The Holey Artisan restaurant in Dhaka where the attack took place is popular with foreigners, and investigators in Rome are looking into whether Italians were specifically targeted, a judicial source said. Autopsies will be carried out on the Italian victims. (Reuters)

Bodies of 9 Italians killed in Bangladesh attack brought to Rome

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