Military commander of banned Islamic group caught

Security forces nabbed the suspected military commander and the alleged money man of a banned Islamic group blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Bangladesh, claiming a breakthrough today in their fight against the militants.

Investigators were interrogating the men in hopes they could help authorities crack open Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, the group officials say carried out blasts that have killed 22 people and wounded scores since the end of November.

“We hope to get some very important information from them,” said Masuq Hassan Ahmed, a spokesman for the elite Rapid Action Battalion, which includes police and soldiers.

Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh wants to establish strict Islamic rule in the country of about 140 million people, which was set up as a secular state when it won independence in 1971 from Pakistan, where Islam is the official religion.

Special agents from the rapid action force caught Ataur Rahman, the group’s reputed military commander, in a raid late yesterday at Tejgaon Polytechnic College in Dhaka, Ahmed told reporters.

Rahman, also known as Sunny, had apparently gone there to meet someone, Ahmed said, adding that police found him carrying about £392 in cash and eight mobile phone SIM cards.

Since being caught, Rahman has denied playing any role in the bombings, but has admitted to being a member of Jumatul Mujahideen and the younger brother of the group’s fugitive leader, Shaikh Abdur Rahman.

In a separate raid in Dhaka yesterday, agents also nabbed Fariduzzaman Swapan, who is believed to be an accountant for Jumatul Mujahideen, Ahmed said.

Ahmed did not provide many details, but said Swapan was being investigated for suspected money laundering because he maintains several bank accounts in his own name, although he denies any ties to the militants.

Neither of the men, both of whom are in their late 30s, have been charged, Ahmed said.

The arrests came on a day when police also uncovered two weapons caches believed to belong to the militants.

In the first seizure, police in Dhaka found a weapons stash in a house that included dozens of grenades and revolvers along with explosives, detonators and other bomb-making materials, Ahmed said.

Later, police in the southeastern port of Chittagong raided a shanty, arresting two suspected militants and seizing detonators, explosives, fake passports and items that could be used to disguise bombs, like books with pages cut out, said police officer Mohammad Osman Gani.

Police also said they recovered hundreds of books, leaflets and cassettes about Jihad, or holy war, during both raids.

Critics say the government, ruled by a coalition that includes two Islamic parties, was initially hesitant to go after Jumatul Mujahedeen when the militants emerged last year in northern Bangladesh.

But after a suicide blast on December 8 killed eight people, including the bomber, in a town north of Dhaka, officials vowed tough action against the group, which has claimed to have 10,000 members.

Officials say they are investigating Bangladeshi media reports that members of the group fought with mujahedeen against the Soviet occupiers of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

So far, the militants have largely targeted government offices and the courts, although a cultural group that had recently staged anti-militant concerts appeared to be the target of the bombing.