The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday arrested eight operatives of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and recovered bomb-making materials in the capital's Khilkhet area.In a pre-dawn raid barely two days before Pahela Baishakh, the elite anti-crime force also seized CDs, audiotapes, computer accessories and manuals, and books and leaflets on jihad.
Rab claimed three of the arrestees have been trained to be suicide bombers. They are Abu Sayeed alias Parvez and Yusuf Al Asadullah Bin Wahidullah of Bogra and Sumon alias Abdullah of Narayanganj.
Of the others, Abdul Matin alias Zakir of Munshiganj had been coordinating efforts to reorganise JMB that was left in ruins by the execution of its six top brass around two years back.
He is brother of Salahuddin, a JMB Majlish-e-Shura (highest policy-making body) member now on death row.
The rest four are the Islamist outfit's Dhaka north zone commander Mohammad Hasanuzzaman of Satkhira, part-time members Tariqullah alias Rubel of Tangail and Anwar Hossain alias Baten of Sirajganj, and IT expert Zahidur Rahman alias Zahid of Pirojpur.
Those detained are aged between 18 and 32.
Back in 1998, Matin played a vital role when JMB supremo Shaikh Abdur Rahman founded the militant organisation at Mohammadia Arabia Madrasa in the city's Jatrabari area.
He later went to Saudi Arabia for work. He would regularly send money to Jama'atul Mujahideen until his return from the Middle East in 2007, the year Rahman was executed along with five other top militant leaders.
Yesterday's recovery includes 10,000 lithium batteries, 10 detonators, and five packets of high power gel explosives.
Rab Additional Director General Col Rezanur Rahman Khan said, "We don't yet know if the arrestees posed a threat to Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year) celebrations. Neither are we ruling out the possibility that they might have been plotting terror attacks."
However, he added, people need not worry as the law enforcers are working round the clock to ensure foolproof security tomorrow.
The arrestees were paraded before the media at a press conference at Rab office in Uttara in the afternoon. Reporters were not allowed to speak to them.
Rab-1 Commanding Officer Bakhtiar Alam said a team made up of members from Rab-1 and the Rab intelligence wing began raiding the house of one Moulana Owaz Uddin at Tekpara village in Khilkhet area at around 3:30am yesterday.
"We found out about the militant network during interrogation of JMB Dhaka divisional commander Mohtasim Billah alias Bashir alias Nasir. After working for about a month and a half on the leads, we finally managed to bust the den and nab the eight early today."
Nasir was arrested in Gazipur on February 20.
Referring to the recovery of lithium batteries, he said they [militants] must have procured those for making time bombs.
The seized JMB leaflet reads, "Here comes the Jihadi Kafila (caravan). It will destroy the enemies of Allah and his Prophet (S). It will bury the tyrants, exploiters and the dishonest leaders to bring about an Islamic state."
The Mujahideen, it continues, are relentless in efforts to "wipe the infidels off the face of the earth"
The leaflet says the "Christian-controlled media gives a distorted view of the Mujahideen's noble campaign to free the country from the unbelievers".
It goes on to describe the country's press as "spokesmen for the non-Islamic forces".