New militant group follows JMB style

The arms and ammo Rab seized from BEM den in Bogra on Thursday.Photo: Star

The three militant suspects arrested in Bogra on Thursday are believed to be remnants of banned Islamist outfit JMB who set up a new organisation styled BEM and were preparing in full for assault with sophisticated weapons.
The seized books and documents on their daily activities suggest that the group is more organised than Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and were having physical training and training on modern firearms.
They had motivational courses on Islam and Jihad as well.
The arrestees disclosed next to nothing during primary interrogation and the law enforcers do not even know what the letters BEM stand for.
“BEM's documentation and file maintenance systems are similar to that of JMB, so we suspect the new organisation is formed by JMB members,” Wing Commander Habibur Rahman, director of legal and media wing of Rab, told The Daily Star.
“Members of the new outfit may have a few groups in other parts of the country like the one we have busted in Bogra,” said Special Company Commander of Bogra Squadron Leader Mohammed Miran Hossain.
He said going through the books and seized documents it seemed to them that each group had around 18 members who worked in two shifts. While some men in their shift study, exercise, pray or train on arms, others remain on guard, he added.
Rab personnel on Thursday afternoon raided a house in Thanthania of Bogra town and seized a China-made AK-22 semi-automatic rifle and a magazine with 15 bullets, a Germany-made GSG-522 sports rifle and a magazine with 22 bullets, a US-made pistol with a magazine and 35 bullets and five US-made Saber knives, which are usually used by commandos, special forces and hunters.
They also seized one rifle target scope, two bayonets, three daggers, a hammer, two axes, one cleaver, 29 iron rods, a toolkit for repairing weapons alongside several Jihadi books, leaflets and notes.
According to wikipedia, the German sports rifle GSG-522 is a semi-automatic weapon widely used for sports like target-shooting and hunting. The semi-automatic AK-22, similar to the vastly popular AK-47 assault rifle, is also built for sports, or military training. Both use the same calibre bullets.
“The chilling recovery suggested how organised the group was -- having training and preparing for massive attacks,” Habibur said, adding that professional hunters use the weapons.
During the operation, Rab personnel arrested madrasa teacher Md Sanaullah, 35, of Bogra, Md Nahid, 22, of Dhaka and electrician Barha Sheikh Babu, 21, of Gaibandha.
Rab officials said the group studied several Islamic subjects, one of which is Akidah and another is on judges and what to do against a judge if he or she was not appointed following Islamic laws.
They were also given lessons on dos and don'ts of law enforcers and cabinet members. The books also contain lessons on war strategy and military tactics, administrative systems and file maintenance.
Replying to a query, the Rab Media Wing director said the seized books showed the formation and organisation of infantry, tactical, intelligence, investigation and communication wings.
The director said the arrestees were recruited for the infantry.
He said they were yet to know about the finances of the militant group or whether they had any links to any political party.
He said it was a matter of serious concern how the group got such weapons which Bangladesh armed forces do not use and, to his knowledge, neither do the forces of any neighbouring country.
Three cases had been filed against the arrestees and 15 unidentified others with Bogra Police Station, reports our Bogra correspondent.
One case was lodged in connection with assaulting Rab personnel, one under the Arms Act and the other under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The arrestees might be produced before a Bogra court with prayers for remand today (Saturday), police said.
The strength of JMB, which grabbed the spotlight through synchronised bomb attacks on 63 districts on August 17, 2005, was believed to have waned after the arrest of almost all its top leaders. JMB had also launched a series of suicide bomb attacks, which killed at least 30 people in 2005.
In one of the cases filed in connection with the killing of two Jhalakathi judges in November, 2005, the then JMB chief Abdur Rahman, second-in command Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and four other top militant leaders were sentenced to death. They were executed in 2007.
Saidur Rahman then took charge of the ameer (chief) of the banned militant group. Police arrested him in May, 2010.