3 militant dens busted

Operation on at Moulvibazar den; raid on Comilla hideout after city polls

A day after the four-day anti-militant operation at Shibbari in Sylhet ended, three more militant dens-two in Moulvibazar and one in Comilla- were busted by law enforcers yesterday. As per latest information received from the spot at 12:30am, a joint team comprising members of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and district police was carrying out an operation codenamed “Operation Hit Back” at one of the dens in Nasirpur area of Moulvibazar sadar upazila. Incidents of explosions and gunshots were reported from the spot.  On the otherhand, militants hurled grenades at police at intervals from another hideout in Borohat area of the same upazila.In Comilla, the law-enforcers will conduct operation at the suspected Comilla den after the city polls scheduled for today, Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda said yesterday. The law-enforcers will keep the “den” sealed off and launch operation there in a convenient time after the election, the CEC said.  He also urged the voters to exercise their franchise without any fear.Both the Moulvibazar houses are owned by a Bangladeshi expatriate living in London. The owner’s name is Saiful Islam and his relative Atique looks after the houses. The distance between the two houses is 20km.The army has been kept in standby, ready to swing into action anytime, if needed, sources said.The Moulvibazar dens were detected by the police early yesterday. One of them is in the Barahat residential area in the district

Grenades hurled at cops

town.This comes on the heels of the Sitakunda raid that left four militants dead, followed by the Sylhet incident in which four more militants were killed. Law enforcers are obviously worried over the spread of militant dens across the country.The local administration has imposed Section 144 in the two areas and shut down all educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Section 144 has been imposed in ward 6 of Barahat and also over a two-km area around Nasirpur.The Srimangal-based Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) camp's chief, ASP Mainuddin,said RAB personnel have reached the two places and a counter-terrorism unit from Dhaka is also there.The officer-in-charge (OC) of Moulvibazar Sadar police station, Wakil Ahmed, said that the police, acting on a tip-off, cordoned off the two houses around 4am yesterday.  When policemen approached the tin-shed house at Nasirpur village, suspected militants threw grenades at them. The police then fired several rounds. Local residents said they heard gunshots several times.Our correspondent says firing was continuing in Nasirpur since the morning, when the police tried to enter the house.The Superintendent of Police of Moulvibazar, Mohammad Shah Jalal, said the suspected militants threw grenades and fired at the police at Barahat. The police returned the fire.As the raids started early in the morning, power and gas supplies in the areas have been cut off. Residents staying close to the house at Nasirpur have been evacuated on security grounds.

It is felt that the suspected militants are well-equipped with explosives and ammunition in the duplex house at Barahat.The deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Kamrul Ahsan, visited the spot around 2:45pm.

Counter-terrorism officer Mahibul Islam, who is at the spot, said they received inputs of the Moulvibazar houses after busting the terror dens in Chittagong's Sitakunda and Sylhet. "Intelligence inputs on the house at Barahat were confirmed last night. Inputs for the house at Sarkarbazar of Nasirpur village were received early in morning," he added.The deputy commissioner of Moulvibazar, Md Tofael Islam, said bullets were fired and grenades were thrown at the police from the house at Nasirpur village. "The police too opened fire," he added.He also said they have sealed off the two houses and were trying to establish contact with the suspected militants inside. "They are yet to say anything. But we will keep on trying in line with our operational strategy," he added.As the raids started early in the morning, power and gas supplies in the areas have been cut off. Residents staying close to the house at Nasirpur have been evacuated on security grounds.Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that if needed, Bangladesh Army commandos would be deployed, though the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit is good enough to conduct operations at the militant dens in Moulvibazar.“The local police have cordoned off the two dens of the militants, and members of SWAT and bomb disposal units have left for Moulvibazar from Dhaka,” the minister told reporters at his Secretariat office earlier in the day.“There some women in the militant dens,” the home minister said.When asked why militants dens are being found in the Sylhet region, he replied: “We are ascertaining whether there is any political motive behind it.”Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the law and order situation is under control and people need not panic.

He, however, said there is nothing to be concerned about if there are only 40-50 militants among 16 crore people. “We have the capability to control them and militant activities would be stopped soon,” the home minister asserted.Local residents said tenants had rented the tin-shed house at Fatehpur village of Khalilpur union two months ago. They have seen two men, a woman and a child at the house. They hardly came out of the house. There is no house adjacent to it. The male members used to come out of the house if they needed anything.On the other hand, the house at Barahat is an under-construction three-storied building. District council chairman Azizur Rahman said the owner has been staying in London for many years. He could not say when the owner last came to Bangladesh.Police sources said Belal, the tenant of the Barahat house, rented the house as a manger of RFL Company for Tk. 7,200 from its caretaker, Jewel, in January. Belal’s father-in-law and three other children used to stay with him.The police said one Mahfuz rented the house at Nasirnagar with the help of Belal for Tk. 6,600. Mahfuz’s in-laws and four children live there.Police sources said when the crackdown on Atia Mahal in Sylhet was continuing, they identified these two houses as possible militant dens.Four militants and two police officers were killed, and at least 40 people injured during "Operation Twilight" at Atia Mahal in Sylhet.A few hours after cordoning off the suspected militant dens at Moulvibazar, the police encircled a building at Gangamoti of Sadar Dakkhin upazila yesterday afternoon, suspecting it to be a militant hideout.Based on intelligence information, a police team surrounded the three-storied building at Baro Kobarstan around 4:30pm, said Abdullah Al Mamun, additional superintendent of police (South).Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four suspected members of Neo JMB’s Sarwar Tamim group from different parts of the capital on Tuesday and yesterday, adds UNB.

Jahangir Hossain Matubbar, commanding officer of Rab-10, said the elite force members arrested Misbah, 19, his brother Mahfuz, 16, Taibur Rahman, 18, and Faisal Ahmed Sanil, 19, based on the information gleaned from five other suspected militants.Rab members arrested Misbah and Mahfuz from Moura in Dohar upazila on Tuesday morning.

Acting on the information of the two siblings, they arrested Taibur from Narisha and Sanil from Judgepara on Tuesday afternoon and yesterday morning respectively.

Sanil left his house on March 26 for his so-called ‘Hijrat’ and his mother then filed a General Diary (GD) with Keraniganj Police Station in this connection.

During primary interrogation, the arrestees said they were planning to ‘carry out subversive activities’ at different places of the city.

 

 

 

3 militant dens busted

Operation on at Moulvibazar den; raid on Comilla hideout after city polls

A day after the four-day anti-militant operation at Shibbari in Sylhet ended, three more militant dens-two in Moulvibazar and one in Comilla- were busted by law enforcers yesterday. As per latest information received from the spot at 12:30am, a joint team comprising members of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and district police was carrying out an operation codenamed Operation Hit Back at one of the dens in Nasirpur area of Moulvibazar sadar upazila. Incidents of explosions and gunshots were reported from the spot. On the otherhand, militants hurled grenades at police at intervals from another hideout in Borohat area of the same upazila.In Comilla, the law-enforcers will conduct operation at the suspected Comilla den after the city polls scheduled for today, Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda said yesterday. The law-enforcers will keep the den sealed off and launch operation there in a convenient time after the election, the CEC said. He also urged the voters to exercise their franchise without any fear.Both the Moulvibazar houses are owned by a Bangladeshi expatriate living in London. The owners name is Saiful Islam and his relative Atique looks after the houses. The distance between the two houses is 20km.The army has been kept in standby, ready to swing into action anytime, if needed, sources said.The Moulvibazar dens were detected by the police early yesterday. One of them is in the Barahat residential area in the district Grenades hurled at cops town.This comes on the heels of the Sitakunda raid that left four militants dead, followed by the Sylhet incident in which four more militants were killed. Law enforcers are obviously worried over the spread of militant dens across the country.The local administration has imposed Section 144 in the two areas and shut down all educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Section 144 has been imposed in ward 6 of Barahat and also over a two-km area around Nasirpur.The Srimangal-based Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) camps chief, ASP Mainuddin,said RAB personnel have reached the two places and a counter-terrorism unit from Dhaka is also there.The officer-in-charge (OC) of Moulvibazar Sadar police station, Wakil Ahmed, said that the police, acting on a tip-off, cordoned off the two houses around 4am yesterday. When policemen approached the tin-shed house at Nasirpur village, suspected militants threw grenades at them. The police then fired several rounds. Local residents said they heard gunshots several times.Our correspondent says firing was continuing in Nasirpur since the morning, when the police tried to enter the house.The Superintendent of Police of Moulvibazar, Mohammad Shah Jalal, said the suspected militants threw grenades and fired at the police at Barahat. The police returned the fire.As the raids started early in the morning, power and gas supplies in the areas have been cut off. Residents staying close to the house at Nasirpur have been evacuated on security grounds. It is felt that the suspected militants are well-equipped with explosives and ammunition in the duplex house at Barahat.The deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Kamrul Ahsan, visited the spot around 2:45pm. Counter-terrorism officer Mahibul Islam, who is at the spot, said they received inputs of the Moulvibazar houses after busting the terror dens in Chittagongs Sitakunda and Sylhet.Intelligence inputs on the house at Barahat were confirmed last night. Inputs for the house at Sarkarbazar of Nasirpur village were received early in morning, he added.The deputy commissioner of Moulvibazar, Md Tofael Islam, said bullets were fired and grenades were thrown at the police from the house at Nasirpur village. The police too opened fire, he added.He also said they have sealed off the two houses and were trying to establish contact with the suspected militants inside. They are yet to say anything. But we will keep on trying in line with our operational strategy, he added.As the raids started early in the morning, power and gas supplies in the areas have been cut off. Residents staying close to the house at Nasirpur have been evacuated on security grounds.Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that if needed, Bangladesh Army commandos would be deployed, though the polices Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit is good enough to conduct operations at the militant dens in Moulvibazar.The local police have cordoned off the two dens of the militants, and members of SWAT and bomb disposal units have left for Moulvibazar from Dhaka, the minister told reporters at his Secretariat office earlier in the day.There some women in the militant dens, the home minister said.When asked why militants dens are being found in the Sylhet region, he replied: We are ascertaining whether there is any political motive behind it.Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the law and order situation is under control and people need not panic. He, however, said there is nothing to be concerned about if there are only 40-50 militants among 16 crore people. We have the capability to control them and militant activities would be stopped soon, the home minister asserted.Local residents said tenants had rented the tin-shed house at Fatehpur village of Khalilpur union two months ago. They have seen two men, a woman and a child at the house. They hardly came out of the house. There is no house adjacent to it. The male members used to come out of the house if they needed anything.On the other hand, the house at Barahat is an under-construction three-storied building. District council chairman Azizur Rahman said the owner has been staying in London for many years. He could not say when the owner last came to Bangladesh.Police sources said Belal, the tenant of the Barahat house, rented the house as a manger of RFL Company for Tk. 7,200 from its caretaker, Jewel, in January. Belals father-in-law and three other children used to stay with him.The police said one Mahfuz rented the house at Nasirnagar with the help of Belal for Tk. 6,600. Mahfuzs in-laws and four children live there.Police sources said when the crackdown on Atia Mahal in Sylhet was continuing, they identified these two houses as possible militant dens.Four militants and two police officers were killed, and at least 40 people injured during Operation Twilight at Atia Mahal in Sylhet.A few hours after cordoning off the suspected militant dens at Moulvibazar, the police encircled a building at Gangamoti of Sadar Dakkhin upazila yesterday afternoon, suspecting it to be a militant hideout.Based on intelligence information, a police team surrounded the three-storied building at Baro Kobarstan around 4:30pm, said Abdullah Al Mamun, additional superintendent of police (South).Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four suspected members of Neo JMBs Sarwar Tamim group from different parts of the capital on Tuesday and yesterday, adds UNB. Jahangir Hossain Matubbar, commanding officer of Rab-10, said the elite force members arrested Misbah, 19, his brother Mahfuz, 16, Taibur Rahman, 18, and Faisal Ahmed Sanil, 19, based on the information gleaned from five other suspected militants.Rab members arrested Misbah and Mahfuz from Moura in Dohar upazila on Tuesday morning. Acting on the information of the two siblings, they arrested Taibur from Narisha and Sanil from Judgepara on Tuesday afternoon and yesterday morning respectively. Sanil left his house on March 26 for his so-called Hijrat and his mother then filed a General Diary (GD) with Keraniganj Police Station in this connection. During primary interrogation, the arrestees said they were planning to carry out subversive activities at different places of the city.