Bangladesh strikes at regrouped Islamist outfit

By IANS

Dhaka : Authorities in Bangladesh have struck at the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) that has regrouped and nabbed two top leaders, one of them a fugitive convicted for murdering two judges in November 2005.


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The arrests followed a series of raids by the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Dhaka and Mymensingh in the country's north, The Daily Star reported Thursday.

Asadul Islam alias Arif – who was tried and convicted in absentia for the November 2005 murders for which six others who formed the top leadership of the JMB were hanged – was one of those arrested.

The JMB has regrouped since the hanging on March 29 this year, and Arif was among the new members of the Majlis-e-Shura, the outfit's top policy-making body, the government was told at an internal assessment of the home ministry last month.

Two more JMB leaders have been convicted by a court for separate offences in Sylhet, each awarded five years' jail and heavy fine, the newspaper said.

RAB Director General Hassan Mahmood Khandkar said: "We will not stop with this success, we will continue our efforts to combat militancy."

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