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| Bangladesh |
| Lashkar linked to grenade attacks |
| 2009-10-04 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] Investigators will show detained top Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders Mufti Obaidullah and Monsur Ali arrested in a number of deadly grenade and bomb attack cases soon as the two disclosed significant information about such attacks. "We already initiated a move to show them arrested in the CPB rally [at Paltan on January 20, 2001] blast cases and having them in remand in those cases today. We suspect they might have been involved in the attack," said a top official in the Criminal Investigation Department. The official said they are also thinking about having them in remand in a case filed in connection with the grenade attack on Awami League rally on August 21, 2004 that killed 23 AL leaders and workers. According to information gleaned from the two top Indian militants during interrogation, they had secret meetings at Harkatul Jihad Al Islami leader Mufti Hannan's residence before his arrest in 2005 and had maintained close contacts with Huji leaders who are accused in those cases. "In those meetings they had elaborate discussions on almost all deadly grenade and bomb attacks," reads the summery of the statements prepared by a law enforcement agency based on interrogations of the two militants. The attacks include planting of a bomb at Kotalipara to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, attack on Udichi function in Jessore, attack on CPB rally at Paltan, Ramna Batamul attack and the attack on former British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury in Sylhet. Obaidullah has also disclosed that Mufti Hannan used to smuggle in grenades and other explosives from India and Indian national Abdul Baki aided him from India. During interrogation by detectives and Task Force for Interrogation (TFI), Obaidullah admitted that he had close relations with the accused in August 21, 2004 grenade attack case including Huji leaders Mufti Abdur Rouf, Maulana Abu Taher, twin brothers Morsalin and Mottakin, Abdul Hye, Abu Zihad, Abu Tareq and Maulana Yahia. Detained Huji leaders Mufti Hannan, Maulana Abu Sayeed and Mufti Abdur Rouf are already charge sheeted accused in a number of deadly grenade attack cases including August 21, 2004 and Ramna Batamul, 2001. The two militants also said during interrogation that Mufti Hannan led the attack on the AL rally on August 21 and the grenade attack on the then British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury on May 21 in 2004. Obaidullah said he first visited Bangladesh in 1989 to attend the Biswa Ijtema and visited different Qawmi Madrasas in Chittagong where Huji had a stronghold and even training camps. He also admitted that Mufti Hannan assisted him in getting a fake Bangladesh passport for a Pakistan national and Lashkar-e-Taiba organiser in Bangladesh Khurram alias Khyyam alias Abdullah. Both the Indian militant leaders, who sneaked into Bangladesh in 1995 and had been staying in Bangladesh in the guise of Bangladesh citizens, also admitted that top Huji leaders had visited their safe house in Habiganj several times. |
| Posted by:Fred |