The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four more members of the newly formed militant outfit ‘Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’ from Chattogram’s Patiya.  They were arrested in a drive conducted by RAB in Patiya’s bypass area on Tuesday night, the elite force told a news conference on Wednesday. The law enforcement agencies have been conducting an anti-militancy operation throughout the country since October last year.  The arrested 4 militants are – Hossain Ahmed (22), Nihal Abdullah (19), Al Amin (22), and Al Amin alias Partha Kumar Das (21).  Among them, Hussain Ahmed's home is in Dasmina in Patuakhali, Nihal and Al Amin's in Sadar in Cumilla and Al Amin alias Parth's home is in Dumuria in Khulna. The arrestees left their home as part of ‘Hijrat’ under the influence of newly introduced ‘Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’ and took part in armed training in Chattogram Hill Tract,   said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, RAB’s Director (Law and Media). In the press conference at Chandgaon RAB-7 Media Centre in the city on Wednesday morning, Commander Moin said that eight young men went missing from Cumilla Sadar area on August 23 last year.  Later, their families filed general diaries at the city’s Kotwali Thana police station. During their investigation, RAB got information about their affiliation with a new militant organisation called 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya.' At the same time, RAB also learned that the members of that organisation were receiving armed training with the help of separatist organisations in Chattogram Hill Tract area. Based on the information, the elite force conducted an operation and arrested 10 people including seven members of the newly launched militant outfit and three members of Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) from Bandarban and Rangamati.  Since then, RAB has conducted dozens of operations across the country and arrested more than 30 members of the militant outfit as well as the separatist organisation.  “We’ve arrested five members of the new militant outfit during an operation in Bandarban’s Rowangchhari  and Thanchi on January 11,” Commander Moin said. “On January 23, we arrested the head of the military wing, Ranbir --  also a Sura member in the militant organisation --  and the explosives expert, Bashar, from an area adjacent to the Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar,” he said. RAB has so far arrested 55 members and leaders of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya. At least 17 members of KNF, which is based in the Chattogram Hill Tract, were also arrested for assisting the militants in training and other activities in the hills. 

A Rangamati court on Tuesday sent 44 suspected members of militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, who were arrested in different anti-militant drives in the district, to jail in separate cases. The court also put five members of the armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) on a five-day remand. Rangamati Senior Judicial Magistrate Swarna Komol passed the order when police produced 49 members of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya and Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) before the court. Also Read: Nayeb-e-Amir of militant group Jama'atul Ansar arrested from Dhaka’s Sayedabad: CTTC Earlier in the day, the militants were taken to the court amid tight security. Also Read: 12 militants, 14 KNF members arrested so far in anti-militancy drive in Bandarban: RAB   Law enforcers conducted separate drives in the hilly areas of Rangamati and Bandarban districts and arrested 50 militants Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya and KNF members recently.        

A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in northwest Pakistan this week had disguised himself in a police uniform and did not raise suspicion among guards, the provincial police chief said on Thursday. Moazzam Jah Ansari said the bomber had been identified and police were close to arresting members of the network that was behind Monday's attack, one of the deadliest ever in Peshawar, the capital in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “We will avenge the martyrdom of each and every policeman," Ansari told a news conference. The blast collapsed the roof of the 50-year-old mosque, killing 101 people, mostly policemen. Two hundred twenty-five people were injured. Ansari spoke a day after dozens of police officers in a rare move joined a peace march organized by the members of civil society groups in Peshawar, demanding protection for themselves. Also read: Pakistan blames 'security lapse' for mosque blast; 100 dead Hours after the bombing, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, of carrying out the attack, saying they were operating from neighboring Afghan territory. Pakistan wants the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP group. Shortly after the bombing, a TTP commander claimed responsibility, but more than 10 hours after the attack the chief spokesman for the group distanced the TTP from the carnage, saying it was not its policy to attack mosques. On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign minister, however, had asked Pakistani authorities to look for the reasons behind militant violence in their country instead of blaming Afghanistan. The comments from Amir Khan Muttaqi came after Pakistani officials said the attackers who orchestrated Monday’s suicide bombing were using Afghan soil to target civilians and security forces. More than 300 worshippers were praying in the Sunni mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Ansari said the attacker was not searched because guards assumed that he was one of their colleagues. “Yes, I admit that it was a security lapse and I take responsibility for it," Ansari said. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the bombing and vowed “stern action” against those behind the attack. Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November when the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with government forces. The violence has increased in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war. The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. ___ Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested a convicted member of the banned militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir from Dhaka's Jatrabari area. The arrestee was identified as Tauhidur Rahman Tauhid, 32, an active member of the ‘Dawah’ and finance department of the militant group. He was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment by an Anti-Terrorism Tribunal. Read more: 12 militants, 14 KNF members arrested so far in anti-militancy drive in Bandarban: RAB Tipped off, a special team of Rab-2 conducted a drive in Dhaka's Jatrabari on Saturday and arrested Tauhid, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Fazlul Haque, senior additional director (Media) of Rab-2, said. Tauhid was indicted in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act at the capital's Hazaribagh Police Station. He has been absconding for the past 11 years and continued his involvement with the militant group, said the Rab official. According to the Rab official, Tauhid was actively involved in anti-state activities -- holding meetings to conspire against the government and distributing leaflets and posters of Hizb ut-Tahrir to encourage madrasa and school students to be engaged in militancy. Read more: 3 ‘members of new militant outfit’ held with arms, explosives in Bandarban Efforts are on to nab his associates based on his information. Legal processes are underway against the arrestee, said the Rab officer.

Twelve members of new militant group 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya' and 14 members of armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) have been arrested so far in the ongoing anti-militancy drive that started on October 10,2022. Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) legal and media wing, disclosed this at a press briefing over the arrest at zila parishad office in the town on Thursday. He briefed reporters after the arrest of five suspected members of new militant outfit 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya' from Thanchi and Rowangchhari upazilas of Bandarban. Read More: 3 ‘members of new militant outfit’ held with arms, explosives in Bandarban They were brought to the Rab office in the town in the morning. “Besides, we have a list of 55 people who took training in the hills being inspired by militancy.  Legal steps will be taken against those who have been arrested, said Moin. The ban on tourism in Rowangchhari, Thanchi and Ruma upazilas is still on as the anti-militancy drive is continuing in the hill district. The main purpose of the drives by the elite force was to capture those who are taking shelter and taking training there after tracing their location, said Moin. Read More: Bandarban: Ban on tourism in 3 upazilas extended till Dec 11 In 2021, the Amir of Jamatul Ansar fil Hindal Sharqiya had an agreement with the CHT-based armed group KNF regarding militant training in the area till next year. As per the agreement, Tk 3 lakh per month and food expenses of all KNF members were to be borne, the RAB official said in a press briefing last year.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested three suspected members of new militant outfit 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya', from Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban and Kadamtoli area in Dhaka. The arrestees were Kabir Ahmed, 50, arms supplier, Yeasin, 40, an aide of Shamim Mahfuz, a mastermind of the new militant group and trainer and Abdur Rahman Imran. Kabir Ahmed was arrested from Bandarban and the rest were arrested from Dhaka based on information given by Kabir. The members of the new militant outfit used local and foreign made firearms during their training, said DMP's Additional Police Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman, also CTTC chief at a press briefing held at DMP media centre on Monday. Police also seized three locally made arms, six guns, 11 bullets, lead, acid, gun powder, octane and other chemicals from their possession, said Asaduzzaman. The CTTC unit conducted the drives based on the information gleaned from two members of the new militant group--Saiful Islam Tuhin and Naim Hossain, who were arrested from the hill districts of Chattogram on December 21, he said. After interrogation, police identified Kabir as the main arms supplier and arrested him from Bandarban district. Following interrogation, they seized the arms and ammunition from two plastic drums, digging soil in a hilly area of Bandarban, said the CTTC chief. During interrogation, Kabir confessed to police that that he was the main arms supplier the militant outfit and he planned to supply the arms seized during the drive to some extremists, he said. Read more: Jamaat ameer involved in breeding new militant outfit: CTTC chief Mahfuz contacted Kabir several times for arms for providing training to the militants, he said. Meanwhile, the team conducted another drive in Kadamtoli area of the capital and arrested two more members of the outfit, he added. It is known that, Yeasin and Rahman were two active members of the outfit and close aide of Mahfuz and through Rahman Mahfuz used to run his financial activities, said Asaduzzaman. Replying a question, Asaduzzaman said they are working for those who have fled their houses and it is still not clear yet how many members are there in the militant outfit. A case was filed under Anti-terrorism Act with Demra Police Station and remand will be sought for the arrestees after producing them before the court, he said. From October 10, law enforcement agencies started a joint drive against the underground extremists and criminals in the district.

Police arrested a suspected member of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team along with a firearm from Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram in the early hours of Saturday. Mojaher Uddin alias Rajib, 33, was arrested from near gate no-2 of Chittagong Chemical complex near Barabkunda Bazar of the upazila.   Read more: Ansar-al-Islam member put on 7-day remand for link to escape of 2 militants Police also recovered a firearm and two rounds of bullet from his possession, said Tofail Ahmed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sitakunda model police station, on Sunday. “There are five cases against Mojaher. One case was filed against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Motijheel police station, another at Rajshahi’s Puthia police station under the Anti-Narcotics Act and another at Sitakunda police station under the Arms Act,” Tofail Ahmed said. Read more: 3 more members of new militant group Jamatul Ansar held in N'ganj Police also said Mojaher came to Sitakhunda form Dhaka one and a half months ago and committed robbery in different places.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested a member of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir from Kamrangirchar of the capital. The arrestee is Nafiz Salam Uday, 45, a resident of city’s Adabor area. He is an active member of ‘Dawat’ and finance department of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir. Read more: ​​​​​​​Rab DG calls escape of two militants a 'failure' Tipped off, a special team of the Anti-Terrorism Cell of Rab-2  conducted a drive at  Kamrangirchar on Sunday noon and arrested Nafiz, said Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Fazlul Haque, senior additional director (Media) of Rab-2. There are three cases against him at Mohammadpur and Adabar police stations and a police assault case at Mohammadpur police station. An arrest warrant was also issued by Anti-Terrorism Tribunal against the arrestee. He remained fugitive for eight years. Read more: Militants’ escape: 10 Ansar-al-Islam members put on another 5-day remand He used to distribute anti-state leaflets and invite people  to various mosques after keeping contact with the Ameer of the Bangladesh branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir and other group leaders, he added. Legal steps will be taken against the arrestee, said the officer. “Besides, efforts are on to arrest the other members of Hizb ut-Tahrir according to Nafiz’s information,” he added.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord was signed two decades ago, but peace still remains elusive  due to criminal activities like killing and extortion while the emergence of new armed group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) providing training to a militant group has become a major concern. Communities living in the region have been trying to rebuild their lives leaving behind all the despair, but fears and conflicts put them back. Violence unleashed by armed groups kills people and destroys the prospect of peace. Even tourism in Bandarban remains banned as part of high security measures preventing militant activities. Bangladesh is marking the 25th anniversary of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord on Friday (December 2). Read more: 25th anniversary of CHT Peace Treaty on Friday Militant training at CHT with emergence of KNF On October 20, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested seven members of newly launched militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya and three members of the armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) conducting drives at Bandarban and Rangamati. Rab started their drives in these areas on October 9. The main purpose of the drives by the elite force was to capture those who are taking shelter and taking training there after tracing their location, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab’s legal and Media Wing. The arrestees confessed that they had an agreement with a separatist group (KNF) to provide them shelter and training in exchange for money, disclosed the Rab spokesman. In 2021, the Amir of Jamatul Ansar fil Hindal Sharqiya had an agreement with the CHT-based armed group KNF regarding militant training in the area till next year. As per the agreement, Tk 3 lakh per month and food expenses of all KNF members were to be borne, according to the Rab officer. Tourism banned in Bandarban Bandarban district administration imposed a temporary restriction on visitors in Ruma and Rowangchhari upazilas from October 18 morning for the safety of tourists amid anti-militancy drive in the district's remote areas. Later on October 23, the local administration discouraged tourists from traveling to Thanchi and Alikadam upazilas due to the same reason. Read more: Anti-militancy drive in CHT: 10 arrestees sent to jail The ban on tourism in Ruma and Rowangchhari upazilas has been extended for ninth time till December 4 while it was lifted in two others upazila.

The two militants – convicted to death in publisher Dipan murder case – were snatched from police custody on a Dhaka court premises at the instruction of top Ansar al-Islam leaders. Additional Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan police (DMP), said this at a press briefing at the DMP media centre on Thursday noon. On Wednesday, CTTC arrested Mehdi Hasan Omi alias Rafi (24), a member of the military wing of Ansar al-Islam, who law enforcers said was involved in the escape of the two convicted militants. Rafi is an accused in the case which was filed with Kotwali Police Station in connection with the incident. Read more: Escape of militants from court premises: CTTC arrests 1 Rafi used to recruit members in the ‘Askari’ wing of the banned militant group, in coordination with sacked army major Syed Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia, said the CTTC chief. Rafi led his team in helping the two convicted militants escape from the Dhaka court premises, he said, adding that three cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act were filed with Dhaka's Mohammadpur, Sutrapur and Badda Police Stations against Rafi for his involvement in anti-state and anti-government activities in 2016. Rafi used to communicate with the other accused during regular appearances at the court during trials of terrorism cases and informed them of the group’s plans, said the CTTC officer. On November 20, Rafi led his group in whisking away the two militants, who were sentenced to death in publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan murder case, from the CMM court premises in Dhaka after using pepper spray on the faces of the policemen, he added. The escapees are Ansar al-Islam members Md Abu Siddique Sohel alias Sakib alias Sajid alias Shahab and Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir alias Sifat alias Imran. Read more: Mastermind behind militant escape from custody identified: CTTC Chief Police filed a case against 20 people in connection with the escape of the two death row convict militants from the Dhaka court. A five-member probe body was also formed by the Bangladesh Police on the same day and it was asked to submit its report within three working days.