Bangladesh killings are coordinated crimes, not isolated incidents

The claim by the ISIS on the killing of an Italian aid worker in Bangladesh has turned out to be a false alarm. While the Indian Intelligence agencies had doubted the claim made by the ISIS, Bangladesh too has a similar view.

The probe into the recent spate of murders in Bangladesh have revealed that these are not isolated incidents and it is a coordinated killing by one particular group. Currently it is the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) which is under the scanner for the killings of various bloggers and aid workers in Bangladesh.

The ISIS claim too was an attempt made by the outfit to gain some attention in Bangladesh where it has no presence. Moreover the Ansarullah Bangla Team too did not react to the ISIS claim as it did not want the heat on it to increase.

Why the ISIS finds it hard to enter Bangladesh?

The ISIS and the ABT have a very similar style of functioning. Both are merciless in their approach and have vowed to establish the Caliphate. The ISIS basically is left with no agenda in Bangladesh.

The ABT does the bulk of the propagating due to which it has a strong support base among the radical elements. Moreover the ABT is in association with the al-Qaeda and hence there is hardly any scope for the ISIS in Bangladesh.

Experts however say that one should not take the situation for granted. The ISIS will make attempts to enter into Bangladesh sooner or later, but their current focus now is Afghanistan alone.

The bordering Indian states such as West Bengal and Assam have a presence of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh which inclines towards the al-Qaeda.

The ISIS did make a feeble attempt several months back to set up a module in Bangladesh. However the security agencies managed to arrest two persons who were actively recruiting for the ISIS.

Coordinated killings:

The killing of the Italian aid worker according to the investigations is not an isolated incident. These are coordinated killings in a bid to send across a strong message both to the Bangladesh government and also the rest of the world.
The ABT in particular has been extremely forceful in Bangladesh.

The agenda of the ABT is not just to set up a caliphate, but also to embarrass the Sheikh Hasina government which has been extremely harsh on radical elements.

Security experts say that the killings have increased in the past couple of months and the ABT has achieved what it wanted and that is to drive a fear into the minds of the people.

The recent decision by Australia to cancel their cricket tour of Bangladesh is a result of this panic wave that the ABT has managed to spread.

OneIndia News