‘Family members either being forced or motivated to join them’
M Jahangir Alam & Abdur Rahman Jahangir, UNB Staff Writers
Dhaka, Mar 23 – Turned furious amid law enforcers’ strong vigilance and continued drives, the militants are now opting to carry out suicide attacks at different parts of the country to demonstrate their existence, said police officials.They observed that the militants are trying to involve their family members with militancy either by force or motivation as they have got isolated following the drives by police, Rab and other law enforcement agencies.
The police officials also said though extremists used to consider Dhaka city as their relatively ‘safer hideout’ due its huge floating people, now they are trying to spread outside Dhaka changing their old strategy.
“Militants now cannot carry out their activities in an organised way as they’ve got scattered due to repeated crackdowns by police and Rab. So, they’re now desperate and preferring to conduct suicide attacks,” Humayun Kabir, Deputy Inspector General (DIG crime management) at the Police Headquarters, told UNB on Wednesday.
Referring to recent attempts of suicide attacks by militants at Dhaka’s Ashkona and Khilgaon and Chittagong’s Sitakunda, he said these incidents indicate that the extremists are now trying to launch scattered suicide attacks having failed to carry out their activities in an organised manner.
“As they’re getting alienated from their own groups, the militants are now trying to motivate their family members to indulge in militant activities,” the DIG observed.
He said though the extremists tried to get reorganised in the country’s northern region, many of them have been arrested and their networks there destroyed through non-stop drives and strong monitoring by law enforcers. “Now the militants have no capability to carry out any attack or militant activities there.”
Replying to a question, the police official said some militants are trying to get organised in Barisal and Sylhet regions, but they cannot raise their ugly heads due to police and Rab’s strong monitoring.
Another assistant inspector general (AIG) at the police headquarters, who wished not to be named, said they conducted a special anti-militancy drive across the country from March 9 to 18 so that no unpleasant incident can take place during the ‘Chiefs of Police Conference’ held in Dhaka from March 12 to 14.
He said two militants were arrested in Comilla while trying to attack a police check-post on March 8.
Based on information gathered from them, special drives were carried out at Mirsarai and Sitakunda of Chittagong.
The AIG said they arrested a total of 84 militants, including 55 members of the banned Islamic outfit JMB, during the special drives.
Besides, he said, six grenades, two suicide belts, two pistols and some 100 jihadi leaflets and books were recovered.
“Militants are now picking women for carrying out suicide attacks as they can easily be motivated in the name of religion. Even, university and college students are their targets,” said a senior official of an intelligence agency preferring anonymity.
He said some militants tried to carry out suicide attacks recently to expose their existence despite the law enforcers’ crackdowns.
