Bangladesh spreads hunt for militants, six held

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

DHAKA, Mar 16: Security forces in Bangladesh have detained six suspected militants in the last two days in a countrywide hunt for Islamist radicals blamed for a wave of bombings, police and officials today said.

The officials said the militants were members of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, whose supreme leader Shayek Abdur Rahman surrendered to security forces on March 2.

Four days after that, security forces captured another top militant -- Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai, head of a second outlawed group called Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh.

Authorities have since intensified the hunt, believing that only two more members of the Jamaat-ul's command council, or majlishe shura, are still at large.

The outlawed groups have been fighting for introduction of sharia law in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim democracy.

Officials identified the two remaining fugitives as Salahuddin and Saifullah and said they were the likely successors to Shayek and Bangla Bhai.

''We are frantically looking for these two,'' said an intelligence officer of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

''If they are captured, we hope the Islamist militant activities will come to an end in the country.'' Shayek is now in police remand for interrogation. Bangla Bhai is being treated at an armed forces hospital in Dhaka for injuries he suffered when he was captured.

At least 30 people were killed and 150 wounded in countrywide bomb attacks since August 17 last year, but the government claims the Islamist network has been effectively shattered following the capture of the two key leaders.

REUTERS

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