DMP chief contradicts Reuters on Tamim-IS ties

“As we do not have any information about it, I will not make any comment,” DMP chief Asaduzzaman Mia said in response to a query during a press briefing at the Police Headquarters yesterday. “Now the detectives will look into the matter.” Quoting a senior police officer seeking anonymity, Reuters on November 30 ran a report claiming that Tamim was told by his contact in the Islamic State group, Abu Terek Mohammad Tajuddin Kausar, to target the foreigners. Before Tamim orchestrated the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan diplomatic zone on July 1, he sought and won approval for it from IS via Kausar, Reuters said, adding that its source, the senior police official, had seen communications between the two. The agency said that it could not independently verify the contents of the communications. IS took credit for the attack that claimed 23 lives including 17 foreigners. The five attackers, who stormed the upscale cafe with sophisticated arms and machetes, were killed in a commando operation the next morning. Bangladesh authorities deny presence of IS operatives in the country and blame local militant groups linked to a new faction of banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for the recent targeted killings claimed by the IS group. Since September last year, IS claimed responsibilities for 26 attacks in Bangladesh that killed 45 people. The DMP chief yesterday said: “The incident [Gulshan attack] was first of its kind in Bangladesh ... It opened our eyes and later we formed the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit. We have also revised our security measures. “Which the world could not do, we did it in 100 days; we reined in the militants. Now we can claim that we are capable [of fighting the militants].” He also listed the raids conducted by different law enforcement agencies after the Gulshan attack – in Kalyanpur, Mirpur, Azimpur, Narayanganj, Gazipur and some other places. At least three dozen members of the New JMB including Tamim were killed during the raids and many others arrested. “We are trying to arrest the fugitive militants including Marjan, Basharuzzaman and Razib. “At this moment, the militants will not be able to carry out any subversive acts,” Asaduzzaman claimed. A senior officer of the CTTC unit recently said that New JMB was regrouping through fresh recruitment and that it still had a stronghold in the northern districts of the country.