Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) captured as many as 500 militants in 163 operations in last two years since the deadly attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in city’s Gulshan area.
Twenty-one front ranking operatives of the banned militant outfit, Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and Neo-JMB were also killed in the anti-militant drives during the period.
Among them, 13 militants were involved in the Holey Artisan Attack in which 20 people mostly foreigners were killed on July 1, 2016. Two police officials were also killed in the attack, reports BSS.
When contacted, Md Benazir Ahmed, Director General (DG) of RAB told the news agency that entire network of the militants has already been shattered in the nationwide anti-militant crackdown with arresting over 500 militants and killing of 21 others.
“We are always vigil on militant acts and such kind of acts to be thwarted in future,” he said, adding that it is not possible to tackle militancy only based on crackdown as the militants’ belief in wrong theory and they should be guided to the right path to tame the menace.
During the period, the elite force also seized 49 foreign and locally made firearms, 190 rounds of bullet, 61 grenades-bombs, 71 electronic detonators, over 15 kilogram explosives, huge quantity of jehadi books, Compact Disks (CDs), leaflets, posters and a good number of devices used in militant activities.
Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director, Legal and Media wing of the RAB told BSS that, among the detained militants, 383 were JMB men, 10 Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), 18 Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islam (HUJI), 51 Ansar Al Islam and one Shaheed Hamja Bridage.
