More than 200 suicide squad members and a few thousands former cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, are involved in accomplishing the mission.

Non-government organisations (NGOs) and intellectuals of the country were the next target of the JMB, its Chittagong divisional chief Mohammad alias Aman Ullah told reporters at the headquarters of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-7 in Patenga yesterday.

Arrested on Tuesday with huge explosives and bombs at Kattali, Mohammad said the JMB has close links with al-Qaeda and its top leaders maintain regular contact with the terrorist outfit from JMB chief Abdur Rahman's hideouts.

Some Rab officials tried to intervene when Mohammad was divulging information about the involvement of Jamaat-Shibir with JMB.

Rab Chittagong region chief Lt Col Hasinur Rahman shouted at the reporters, "Why don't you ask him about Indian intelligence agency RAW and his visit to India instead of asking him about Saidee?"

The Rab seized from him some audiocassettes that contain religious speeches by Jamaat lawmaker Delwar Hossain Saidee and books published by Jamaat-backed publishing houses.

A number of the cassettes belong to Simoom Shilpi Goshthi and Ronagan Shilpi Goshthi, cultural wings of Shibir.

NEXT TARGET
Mohammad said they were to target NGOs and the country's intellectuals in their next attacks.

Sunny held a secret meeting at the polytechnic institute in Dhaka to finalise the next course of action Tuesday.

He said Sunny could not evade arrest as police and Rab raided a dormitory of the institute, but he managed to flee to his Chittagong hideout. But the Rab eventually arrested him on Tuesday night.

JAMAAT LINKS
Admitting his and many other JMB activists' past involvement in Jamaat politics, Mohammad said he had joined JMB four to five years ago.

Satisfied with his performance, JMB chief Abdur Rahman and JMJB Operations Commander Bangla Bhai took him to Bagmara in Chapainawabganj in April, 2004 to suppress the outlaws [sarboharas].

The local lawmaker and administration had cooperated with them in this connection, Mohammad told reporters.

After the success at Bagmara, Mohammad was first appointed as JMB Chittagong regional commander. JMB Military Commander Ataur Rahman Sunny, also arrested in Dhaka on Tuesday, later made him the Chittagong divisional commander.

"A huge quantity of explosives and bombs was smuggled into the country through Chapainawabganj border before August 17 and disbursed to JMB leaders and activists by SA Paribahan courier service," Mohammad said. He added that all bomb attacks were carried out at the diktat of Rahman.

Mohammad said he once entered India to go to Afghanistan for higher training from al-Qaeda militants but failed to cross the India-Pakistan border.

JMB CHIEF DISTRIBUTED BOMBS
Mohammad told the reporters Rahman himself had distributed explosives among divisional chiefs just a week before the August 17 blasts, reports UNB.

He however could not say about the source of JMB fund, saying only Rahman knows everything about it.

Mohammad also could not say the quantity of explosives distributed at divisional levels, as each divisional chief was given the explosives separately.

ARRESTS
Following his confessional statement, the Rab held three other JMB militants in separate raids across Chittagong and Cox's Bazar between Wednesday night and yesterday morning.

The arrestees are Chittagong district commander Rafiqul Islam Jahed alias Roman, 22, deputy commander for Cox's Bazar Manirul Islam Manir, 24, and Cox's Bazar regional leader Mashiur Rahman Milon, 23.

HUNT FOR BOMB EXPERTS
The law enforcers are looking for five JMB bomb experts, who are highly skilled and have the technical knowhow to manufacture sophisticated bombs for its suicide squad, following the Tuesday's double arrest, our Staff Correspondent in Chittagong adds.

The Rab and police gathered details about two of them -- Mizan, in charge of Chittagong Division, and Osman, based in North Bengal.

Five students of chemistry department at Dhaka University are also involved in manufacturing bombs, sources said.