Members of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit have detained 10 suspected operatives of the newly formed militant outfit ‘Imam Mahmud’s Kafela’ after conducting ‘Operation Hillside’ at a hideout in a remote hilly area in East Taktiuli village under Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar on Saturday (August 12, 2023). Three children were also rescued from the hideout during the drive. The detainees are Shariful Islam, 40, his wife Amina Begum, 40, their 20-year-old daughter Habiba Binte Shariful, of Satkhira’s Tala upazila; Hafiz Ullah, 25, of Kishoreganj’s Itna upazila; Khairul Islam, 22 and his wife Meghna, 22, of Narayanganj’s Fatullah upazila; Rafiul Islam, 22, of Sirajganj’s Kazipur upazila; Shapla Begum, 22, wife of one Abdus Sattar of Pabna’s Atgharia upazila; Maisha Islam, 20, wife of Sohel Tanjim Rana of Natore; and Sanjida Khatun, 18, wife of Sumon Miah of Bogura’s Shariakandi upazila. Read: Five suspected members of new militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar heldMd Asaduzzaman, chief of CTTC unit and additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), at a press briefing following the operation in Kulaura upazila at around 11 am said they detained four men and six women and rescued three children from the hideout. He said the detainees are members of the newly formed militant outfit ‘Imam Mahmud’s Kafela’. The CTTC chief said they have also recovered 2.5 kg of explosives, 50 detonators, training manual, combat boots, militant books, locally-made sharp weapons, Tk 3,61,000 in cash and ornaments from the hideout. Asaduzzaman said they had information that a militant outfit had set up a hideout on one of the hills in the district and was recruiting new members. The CTTC chief said they came to know the name of the mastermind of the militant group from the detainees and drives are now on to nab him. Read: Training commander of Jamatul Ansar, 8 other militants arrested in Bandarban: RAB Earlier on Friday night, the CTTC members accompanied by district police cordoned off a building in the village. Later this morning, the CTTC unit initiated the operation to neutralize any potential risk stemming from the hideout. Local Union Parishad Chairman Muhibul Islam said the detained suspected militants are residents of other districts and they have been living in the area for the past two months after constructing a house in the remote hilly area. Read more: ​​​​​​​Rab DG calls escape of two militants a 'failure'

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) says it has arrested the Nayeb-e-Amir of the militant group Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya from Sayedabad area of Dhaka. The arrestee was identified as Mohibullah alias “Bholar Shayekh”. Acting on a tip-off, a team of CTTC unit conducted a drive at Sayedabad bus terminal and arrested Mohibullah with two mobile phone sets and a laptop on Tuesday evening, CTTC unit chief Md Asaduzzaman said at a press briefing held at DMP media centre today. When briefing, Asaduzzaman said Mohibullah used to deliver sermons and inspire members of the militant group after taking them into the hill districts. His main target was to psychologically prepare the new recruits for “jihad” after misinterpreting religious scripture, the CTTC chief said. After living in the Chattogram Hill Tracts region for some time, Mohibullah returned to Dhaka and carried out different activities including intensifying communication through encrypted messaging app, he said. Read more: 3 more members of new militant group Jamatul Ansar held in N'ganj Mohibullah also had a number of meetings with top leaders of militant groups for strengthening activities in Dhaka, Sylhet and Kishoreganj. He also used to go to madrasas in Hathazari of Chattogram district, said Asaduzzaman. Mohibullah was also an active member of the banned extremist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad Bangladesh (HuJI-B) when he was a student of a madrasa in Hathazari and took “jihadi training” with other members of HuJI-B. Read more: Five suspected members of new militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar held  

A senior counter terrorism official said on Thursday that Ameer(chief) of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Shafiqur Rahman has confessed the involvement of his son Dr Rafat Sadiq Saifullah with the new militant outfit Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya. The chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Asaduzzaman claimed this at a press conference in the DMP media centre on Thursday. The CTTC chief said the Jamaat chief was aware that his son was involved in militancy. “But he remained silent and didn’t inform the law enforcement agencies,” Asaduzzaman said. “If someone wants to return to normal life after being involved in militancy, the law-enforcement agencies consider an application on behalf of the family. But he (Shafiqur) did not inform the law enforcers and concealed the whole thing,” he said. Rafat, son of Shafiqur Rahman, along with one of his associates were arrested from Jatrabari area of the city on November 9. Read more: Dr Shafiqur Rahman made Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Rafat was a suspected member of Ansar Al Islam and collected some supporters from the militant group to join their new militant outfit Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, the official claimed. A group of young people, who left homes recently, led by Rafat went to Bandarban from where they went to Sylhet for training from militants with Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed group in the Chattogram Hill Tracts, claimed the CTTC chief. Shafiqur Rahman was arrested on December 13 for his alleged involvement in militancy. Police found the evidence of supporting and funding the new militant outfit Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya by the Jamaat chief, said DMP Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq on December 17. Meanwhile, about the escape of two militants from the Dhaka court, the CTTC chief said on Thursday: “It is not time to say it yet. They’ve not escaped from the country yet.” Read more: Arrest warrants issued against Jamaat chief, 11 others in sabotage case

A special team of Lalmonirhat district police with the help of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of DMP arrested an alleged member of banned militant outfit Neo JMB from Khilgaon area in Dhaka on Tuesday night. The arrestee was identified as Nazmus Sakib, 26, a resident of Hatibandha area of Lalmonirhat. Read: Neo JMB member arrested in Dhaka He has already been taken to Lalmonirhat following his arrest,Officer-In- Charge of Hatibandha Police Station Ershadul Alam told UNB. Read: Drive at Savar 'militant den': Woman held, explosives seized “ Sakib is an active member of Neo JMB. There are arrest warrants against him on charges of attacking police officers and for involvement in anti- state activities,” the OC added.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) arrested Rezaul Haque aka Reza, the Acting Amir of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), from Badda in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon. He also goes by the name Tanvir Mahmud Shihab aka Ahnaf. M Elias Sharif, DMP Joint Commissioner of Police said that the Special Action Group Division of the CTTC unit conducted a special operation in the Badda area of the capital on Saturday afternoon and arrested him. Also read: ‘JMB member’ held in Joypurhat Elias stated that Reza is also the chief of the Da'wah and Baitulmal department of JMB. He was conducting JMB activities across the country as per the directives of top JMB leader,  fugitive Salahuddin Salehin. He was arrested for involvement in a series of bomb attacks in the country in 2005 and rejoined the party after securing bail in 2017. Also read: Three ‘JMB members’ held in Rajshahi There are two cases against him in GRP and Airport Police Station. According to the CTTC, Amir Rezaul, who is in charge of the current organizational structure of the JMB, is the only Shura member of the JMB.

A tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on Tuesday  in the murder case of writer and founder of Mukto Mona blog Avijit Roy who was killed amid the spate of 'blogger-killings' in 2015.

A hard-and-soft approach needs to be applied to control militancy as it cannot be contained just by enforcing law, said chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Monirul Islam.

Members of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) have arrested six more suspected members of Neo-JMB from number 2gate area of the port city in connection with the bomb blast at a traffic police box in the city’s Sholosohor area in February.

Police arrested four suspected members of militant outfit ‘Neo JMB’ from Ajampur area of the city on Thursday, over a blast incident in Paltan area on July 24. 

Police have pressed charges against nine members of Ansar al-Islam, a militant organization popularly known as Ansarullah Bangla team, in a case filed over the murder of blogger Nazim Uddin in Old Dhaka in 2016.