Bangladesh police stormed a militant hideout near Dhaka on Saturday, shooting dead three alleged Islamist extremists, including the suspected mastermind of the cafe attack that killed 22 mostly foreign hostages last month.
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The unit’s chief Monirul Islam earlier said the raid was conducted upon information gleaned from an arrested operative of the banned Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the police operation would uphold confidence and the image of her country, and came ahead of USA secretary of state John Kerry’s visit to Dhaka on Monday.
The terrorists of the new JMB were killed in a raid by security forces in Narayanganj town, 20 kilometers east of capital Dhaka, as they were hiding in a three-storyed building at Paikpara.
The suspects opened fire at police, who retaliated and shot the men dead after they failed to surrender.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the restaurant attack, but authorities have denied the claim.
The raid was carried out on information extracted from one of those arrested following the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan area, police sources said.
“Three of those who were rescued were foreigners, including one Japanese and two Sri Lankans”, said the spokesperson.
Both Isil and a branch of Al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks attributed to JMB, leading to criticism from anti-terror experts that the government is reluctant to admit that global jihadist groups have a presence in the country.
Map of Bangladesh where the terror attack took place. The militants in last month’s attack were well-prepared and heavily armed with guns, bombs and large knives or swords, which police said were used to torture some hostages or mutilate their bodies once dead. The men, University of Toronto student Tahmid Khan, a Bangladeshi citizen and Canadian permanent resident, and Hasnat Karim, a British-Bangladeshi citizen, have been detained since July 1. He said many are engineers or other professionals who are hardworking and peaceful, and that the community condemns the type of violence that police have accused Chowdhury of.
“The main mastermind of the Holey Artisan (attack) has been eliminated”, Hasina told reporters at her office, referring to the Gulshan cafe incident.
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Chowdhury has led and financed efforts to radicalise young Muslims since returning from Canada, officials say.
