Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, a new militant organization, signed a formal agreement with the banned militant outfit Ansar al-Islam in order to cooperate, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) official has said.
“Ameer Anisur Rahman alias Mahmud signed an agreement with the leaders of Ansar al-Islam at a meeting held in Kishoreganj in 2022. Later, Ansar al-Islam provided Tk15 lakh to Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya,” said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of RAB's legal and media wing, at a press conference on Monday.
According to the agreement, Ansar al-Islam took over the responsibility of training the members of Sharqiyah on IT and security. In return, Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya pledged to provide training and weapons to Ansar al-Islam members in the hilly areas.
Earlier in the day, RAB arrested three people including the ameer of the new armed group Anisur Rahman from Munshiganj's Louhajang.
The arrestees have been identified as Ameer Md Anisur Rahman alias Mahmud, Kazi Sharaj Uddin alias Shiraj, Mahfuzur Rahman Bijoy alias Babul alias Jambuli.
Local and foreign firearms, bomb-making equipment, extremist pamphlets, and cash were seized from their possession during the early morning raid.
During primary interrogation, the arrestees confessed to RAB that some of their members were taken for training in the hill areas. If they wanted to return or try to escape during the training, they were imprisoned in a cell as a punishment under Anisur's direction.
Regarding their operations, the RAB official said: “Anisur Rahman alias Mahmud met and sought consultation from Nathan Bom, the head of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), and Bangchung, second in command, before coordinating with Ansar al-Islam.”
Ameer Anisur Rahman, after finishing his studies, was working at a CNG filling station as a manager. However, he was involved in another banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami before joining Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, the official said.
“Later, he met Ansar al-Islam's Roxy and Felani at a restaurant in Comilla, and they held another meeting at Jatrabari in the capital and planned to create and expand a new organization. According to that plan, they started the activities of Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya,” the official noted.
After 2016, Anisur Rahman used to go to different mosques in Bandarban's Naikhongchhari to conduct the organization's activities. In 2020, he went to different areas of Bandarban for training. There, with the help of one Aslam, Anisur spent about a month training in various military tactics, and weapons, and surviving in a hostile environment.
The RAB official further said that previously, Mainul Islam alias Roxy was ameer of Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya. When Roxy was arrested by law enforcement in 2021, Anisur was elected as ameer by the decision of other members of the organization.
“During his stay in the mountain areas in Bandarban, he met KNF members and had good relations with KNFchief Nathan Baum and second-in-command Bangchung. In 2021, they signed an agreement to provide armed training to Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya members in the deep hills of Bandarban under the umbrella of KNF. Under the terms of the agreement,” he added.
In addition, under Anisur Rahman's direction, various types of heavy weapons and foreign firearms worth Tk17 lakh were purchased from KNF; Which was being used in training.
Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya
Dubbed an initiative to free the imprisoned spiritual leaders of militant groups and Islamic clerics, the armed group Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya was formed in 2017 with support from the now-waned banned militant outfits, which are responsible for hundreds of deadly attacks in the last 30 years.
Law enforcers say Jama'atul Ansar gained a foothold in 2019. Two years later, its leaders joined hands with the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), a separatist group in Bandarban, to get the militants trained in using assault rifles and making Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).
The activities of Jama'atul Ansar came to light in October 2022, when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was investigating the disappearance of seven youths from Comilla. Later, a list of 55 trainees, mostly students from across the country, was discovered.
Since then, most of the leaders and trained members of Jama'atul Ansar and the KNF have been arrested during drives by the joint forces and the police's RAB and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) in the hills. Law enforcers also raided Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar and arrested two key leaders of Jama'atul Ansar.