Intel officials hunt for more JMB dens

Law enforcement agencies are trying to find the other Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) hideouts and bomb-making factories with the help of the three militant suspects arrested from a Mirpur den of the outfit on Thursday.
A top intelligence officer, on condition of anonymity, told The Independent that they suspect there are more bomb factories apart from the one busted at Dhaka’s Mirpur. “If we fail to find the other factories, we have to be prepared to face unexpected situations in the future,” he warned. “We have already conducted several raids in different places across the country,” he said, adding that the arrested JMB men had disclosed some possible spots. “On the basis of the information we got from them, we
have increased vigilance in certain areas,” he added.
About the locations of the probable bomb factories, the official said, “Though the JMB men mentioned Bogra, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Chittagong and Sylhet, they have not mentioned any specific spots so far.” He claimed that the JMB militants had suddenly become active again, with the aim of destabilising the country.
Talking to The Independent yesterday evening, assistant inspector general (media and public relations) (headquarters) Nazrul Islam, said, “We are constantly trying to enhance vigilance, analyse information, and plan random operations.”
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) deputy director (legal and media wing) Maj Maksudul Alam also told this correspondent that the elite force had significantly increased its intelligence gathering so that no one could build bomb factories anywhere in the country.
“We have already instructed all our battalions,” he added.
Additional deputy commissioner of the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sanowar Hossain Sunny said, “We are almost sure about the identity of the three arrestees.”
“If we can question them on remand, we hope to get detailed information from them,” said the DB official.
“Four months ago, the JMB men had rented the house, where they were staying until their arrest. They must have also made bombs at other houses in different places,” he said.
“We are trying to find out how many bomb factories have cropped up in the country,” said Sunny. “The JMB men also gave us some names and we are verifying these,” he added.
“We have found similarities between the bombs used in Hosne Dalan, Kamrangirchar and Mirpur, but the militants could not tell us the actual sources from where the bombs were
supplied. Usually, the militants who
take part in the operation don’t know
the source of the bombs, while the suppliers don’t know who took part in the attacks,” he explained.
About the hand grenades, the expert said, “All bomb-making materials are not available in the country, but I believe the JMB does not have links with any international terrorist group so far.” “I think the militants collected the explosives from a neighbouring country,” he hinted. “We also suspect that the arrested JMB men were also training other members in the house,” he added.
In an eight-hour pre-dawn raid on Thursday, the Detective Branch (DB) busted a ‘secret den’ of the banned militant Islamist outfit JMB in Mirpur and arrested three top JMB militants. The three detainees are top members of the JMB, police have claimed.
A large quantity of explosives, including hand grenades similar to those found unexploded after the Husseini Dalan blasts in Lalbagh last October, was seized from separate apartments in the building. A suicide bomber’s vest was also seized. The three arrested JMB men are Abu Sayeed alias Rasel alias Salman (22), Md Elias alias Omar Faruk (23), and Mohsin Ali (20). 

Intel officials hunt for more JMB dens

Law enforcement agencies are trying to find the other Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) hideouts and bomb-making factories with the help of the three militant suspects arrested from a Mirpur den of the outfit on Thursday. A top intelligence officer, on condition of anonymity, told The Independent that they suspect there are more bomb factories apart from the one busted at Dhakas Mirpur. If we fail to find the other factories, we have to be prepared to face unexpected situations in the future, he warned. We have already conducted several raids in different places across the country, he said, adding that the arrested JMB men had disclosed some possible spots. On the basis of the information we got from them, we have increased vigilance in certain areas, he added. About the locations of the probable bomb factories, the official said, Though the JMB men mentioned Bogra, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Chittagong and Sylhet, they have not mentioned any specific spots so far. He claimed that the JMB militants had suddenly become active again, with the aim of destabilising the country. Talking to The Independent yesterday evening, assistant inspector general (media and public relations) (headquarters) Nazrul Islam, said, We are constantly trying to enhance vigilance, analyse information, and plan random operations. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) deputy director (legal and media wing) Maj Maksudul Alam also told this correspondent that the elite force had significantly increased its intelligence gathering so that no one could build bomb factories anywhere in the country. We have already instructed all our battalions, he added. Additional deputy commissioner of the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sanowar Hossain Sunny said, We are almost sure about the identity of the three arrestees. If we can question them on remand, we hope to get detailed information from them, said the DB official. Four months ago, the JMB men had rented the house, where they were staying until their arrest. They must have also made bombs at other houses in different places, he said. We are trying to find out how many bomb factories have cropped up in the country, said Sunny. The JMB men also gave us some names and we are verifying these, he added. We have found similarities between the bombs used in Hosne Dalan, Kamrangirchar and Mirpur, but the militants could not tell us the actual sources from where the bombs were supplied. Usually, the militants who take part in the operation dont know the source of the bombs, while the suppliers dont know who took part in the attacks, he explained. About the hand grenades, the expert said, All bomb-making materials are not available in the country, but I believe the JMB does not have links with any international terrorist group so far. I think the militants collected the explosives from a neighbouring country, he hinted. We also suspect that the arrested JMB men were also training other members in the house, he added. In an eight-hour pre-dawn raid on Thursday, the Detective Branch (DB) busted a secret den of the banned militant Islamist outfit JMB in Mirpur and arrested three top JMB militants. The three detainees are top members of the JMB, police have claimed. A large quantity of explosives, including hand grenades similar to those found unexploded after the Husseini Dalan blasts in Lalbagh last October, was seized from separate apartments in the building. A suicide bombers vest was also seized. The three arrested JMB men are Abu Sayeed alias Rasel alias Salman (22), Md Elias alias Omar Faruk (23), and Mohsin Ali (20).