Govt bans Ansar Al Islam
The home ministry yesterday banned Islamist outfit Ansar Al Islam, which is said to be the Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, as its activities "already posed a threat to public security".
The ban circular said the militant organisation's activities went against peace and order in the country.
The radical group was earlier known as Ansarullah Bangla Team, which was banned on May 25, 2015, for militant and anti-state activities.
It is allegedly responsible for the killing of several secular writers, bloggers and online and gay rights activists critical of religious bigotry.
The victims include Ahmed Rajib Haider (February 15, 2013), Avijit Roy (February 26, 2015), Oyasiqur Rahman (March 30, 2015), Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Tonoy (April 25, 2016), Ananta Bijoy Das (May 12, 2015), Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy (August 7, 2015), publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan (October 13, 2015) and Nazim Uddin Samad (April 6, 2016).
Ansar Al Islam also claimed responsibility for attacks on publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul and his two blogger friends on October 13, 2015.
Major (dismissed) Syed M Ziaul Haq, who made headlines by trying to engineer a military coup in 2012, is said to be its military commander.
Around 200 trained members are active in the country to execute the plans of Ziaul Haq, detectives say based on statements of some of its arrested members.
This group began gaining strength in 2013-14 -- especially in northern regions. It recruits members from the now banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ahle Hadith, Hefazat-e Islam, different madrasas and financially vulnerable families.
Earlier, five militant outfits were also banned -- Hizb ut-Tahrir, JMB, Jagroto Muslim Janata Bangladesh, Shahadat-e Al Hikma and Harkatul Jihad al Islami.
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