2005 August 17 series blast: JMB no longer a major threat
If political situation gets unstable, JMB members may take advantage and try to reorganise again.
Banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) hardly poses any security risks at this moment. However, it may attempt to reorganise in small factions, taking advantage of unstable political situations ahead of the national election, said officials engaged in countering militancy.
The outlawed group, now known as mainstream JMB, has no known leader in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, its strength has significantly weakened after many of its active members joined other militant groups. The outfit is also plagued with a shortage of funds required to reorganise it, the officials added.
An official of Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) made the apprehension as they have information that eight to 10 militants, including some who were accused of cases filed over the countrywide bombing in 2005, have gone off their radar after being freed on bail or serving jail terms.
JMB, founded in 1998 with an aim to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh, grabbed the spotlight with a synchronised, countrywide bomb blast on this day (August 17) in 2005.
The group detonated 459 bombs in half an hour at 300 locations in 63 of the 64 districts.
Amid law enforcers' drive to arrest the group's kingpins and operatives, JMB targeted the country's judiciary -- court buildings, judges, and government officials -- with suicide attacks.
Following the August 17 attacks, 159 cases were filed against 256 named and many unnamed accused. Investigators pressed charges in 149 cases against 1,131 militants. Final reports were placed in the remaining 10 cases, according to Police Headquarters data.
Verdicts in 116 cases have been delivered, in which 322 JMB leaders and activists were convicted and 358 acquitted.
Trial of 43 cases are still pending with different courts, the data shows.
Md Asaduzzaman, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, said JMB is now facing an existential crisis.
"Its top leader Salahuddin alias Salehin, who is hiding abroad, at times tried to reorganise the group in Bangladesh, but could not succeed due to our intervention," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Khandaker Al Moin, Rab's legal and media wing director, said JMB is significantly weakened as many of its active members joined other militant organisations. "We found 15-20 JMB men who joined the newly-formed militant group Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya," he added.
Some of its members tried to reorganise small factions, but failed due to fund crunch and law enforcers' intervention.
The Rab officer referred to the arrest of Emdadul Haque alias Uzzal Master in September 2021 from a hideout in Dhaka's Basila. Emdadul admitted to Rab that he was coordinating around 50 JMB members to reunite them to form a JMB faction.
Emdadul, who was a school teacher but was sacked for his involvement in militancy, was accused in several cases filed on charges of sabotage and involvement in militancy with different police stations in Dhaka and Mymensingh in 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2020. He was arrested at least twice, but was released on bail.
"Now we have no intelligence about anyone leading the JMB," Moin told this correspondent.
MM Hasanul Jahid, superintendent of police at Anti-Terrorism Unit, said over 1,100 accused of different militancy related cases who are on bail or freed after serving their jail terms are under their constant watch.
Replying to a query, he said 20 to 25 of them left homes and went off the ATU radar. Later, five to six of them were arrested while ATU traced some of them.
The officer said eight to 10 are still missing and a drive is on to arrest them. He, however, could not confirm whether the missing persons were accused in August 17 cases.
Jahid apprehended, "If political situation gets unstable, JMB members may take advantage and try to reorganise again."
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