Five members of the new militant outfit in Bangladesh, Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, were arrested by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The arrests took place on November 30 from Dhaka’s Demra area, CTTC officials said.
The officials said that after the group was formed in 2017, the members began training in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
CTTC chief Md. Asaduzzaman said the group’s head Shamin Mahfuz has been arrested and they were likely planning an act of sabotage inside the country.
“We will be able to know whether they have any plan centering the upcoming elections after arresting their leader,” he said.
Asaduzzaman also said that the youths had left home for pilgrimage but joined the militant outfit instaed.
The arrested militants were identified s Md Abdullah (22), Md Tajul Islam (33), Md Ziauddin (37), Md Habibullah (19), and Md Mahamudul Hasan (18), the CTTC chief told IANS on Monday.
Police seized three mobile phones and 12 pages of militancy-related fatwa documents from their possession.
Everything you need to know about Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya
The New militant organization in Bangladesh – Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya is a new platform of militants consisting of members from banned militant organizations such as Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansar Al Islam, Harkatul Jihad Bangladesh (HUJI).
It may be mentioned here that, Bangladeshi militancy outfit Ansar Al Islam is the local franchise of Al Qaeda while Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh is the counterpart of Islamic State. There also are small number of militancy group which is connected to Iranian proxy Hezbollah and Hamas.
In recent times, several members of the organization have been arrested from different parts of the country. According to reports, they were organizing in disguise until law enforcement forces took the initiative to ban the group.
It is learned that several important lists including activities, objectives, and members of the organization are being prepared. The Ministry of Home Affairs declared the new militant organization banned after the document is sent from the police headquarters.
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Law and order forces say that the government has already banned almost all militant organizations in the country. As a result, militant organizations were looking for new platforms to carry out their activities. That is why the militants were continuing the activities of the organization with a new name.
Eight organizations were banned as militant and radical Islamic organizations in Bangladesh. Finally, on November 5, 2019, the militant organization ‘Allah-r Dal’ was legally banned.
Earlier, the government banned Ansar Al Islam as a militant organization on March 1, 2017. For being involved in militancy activities, the Ministry of Home Affairs had previously named Shahadat-e-al Hikma on February 9, 2003, Harkatul Jihad Bangladesh (HUJI-B) on September 2005, Jagrat Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on October 17, 2005. Hizb ut Tahrir on 22 October 2009 and Ansarullah Bangla on 25 May 2015 were banned as teams.
After the Ansarullah Bangla Team was banned in May 2015, its members continued to operate under the name Ansar al-Islam under the leadership of Major Ziaul Haque alias Zia, the mastermind behind the failed coup attempt in the army. In March 2017, Ansar al-Islam was also banned by the government.
It is known that the new militant organization Jamatul Ansar is led by Phil Hindal Sharqiya, an expelled teacher of the Open University. whose name is Shamin Mahfuz alias Shamin Sir alias Mending Murong. Law and order forces are trying to arrest the fugitive Shamin.
Leader of the Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya Militant Group
It is known that a person named Shamin Mahfuz alias Sir is the head of the organization. In 2014, ‘Sir’ was arrested by DB. He was also arrested once in 2015. Then he planned to create a new organization in the prison. After getting bail, he started building a strong organization with the militants. The mountainous region chooses to stay hidden from the public eye. After that, new militant members were given training in weapons handling and bomb making. An armed group called ‘Kuki-Chin National Front’ is training new militants in return for money.
It is to be noted that ‘Kuki-Chin National Front’ (KNF) is fighting for the demand of separate state with the upazilas of Baghaichhari, Barkal, Jurachhari and Bilaichhari of Rangamati and Rawangchhari, Ruma, Thanchi, Lama and Alikadam of Bandarban. They claim that they represent six ethnic groups: Bom, Pankhwa, Lusai, Khiang, Mro and Khumi. The KNA claims that hundreds of members of its military wing migrated to Myanmar’s Kachin province for guerrilla training three years ago. Now they are ready to fire and fight.
