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Bangladesh arrest 11 suspected Islamic militants
 DHAKA: Police in northwestern Bangladesh on Wednesday questioned 11 men suspected of being members of a banned Islamic militant group, senior officials said. The men were arrested Tuesday after local residents led police to a house on the outskirts of Rajshahi city, where police found books on bomb-making techniques and diaries praising Jihad, or Islamic holy war, said the areaâs police chief, Baharul Alam. The men, including four Islamic seminary students, are suspected of being members of the banned Jagrata Muslim Janata group, Alam said. All have denied involvement with any Islamic militant group, said another police official, Zahidul Islam, adding that the men told investigators they had gathered in the house to discuss the Quran, the Islamic holy book. A court in Rajshahi, a city 232 kilometers northwest of national capital, Dhaka, has allowed investigators to keep the suspected militants in custody for seven days. Early this year the government outlawed two Islamic militant groups - Jumatul Mujahedin and Jagrata Muslim Janata - for their alleged involvement in a spate killings, robberies and bomb attacks in Bangladesh. The groups have denied involvement in the violence, but vowed to work to establish Islamic rule in this predominantly Muslim nation of 140 million people. Posted by: Fred 2005-07-21 |
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