Seven of nine militants identified, three from Dhaka

Seven of the militants killed during operation “Storm 26” on Tuesday morning have been identified, said Dhaka Metropolitan police (DMP) on Wednesday. A total of nine militants were killed during a joint forces drive in a flat in Dhaka’s Kalyanpur, while one was caught and another escaped. DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that seven dead militants had been identified by matching their fingerprints with national identification (NID) records. After verifying their fingerprints Bangladesh Election Commission sent them to the DMP on Wednesday. The identified seven are Abdullah, 23, son of Sohrab Ali of Ballabhpur village, Dinajpur, Abdul Hakim Naym, 33, [name in Bengali reads Abu Hakim Naym] son of Nurul Islam of Kuakata village, Patuakhali, Taj-ul-Haque Rashiq, 25, son of Rabiul Haq from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, Akifuzzaman Khan, 24, son of Saifuzzaman Khan of Dhaka’s Gulshan area, Shazad Rouf, 24, son of Tawhid Rouf of Bashundhara, Dhaka, Motier Rahman, 24, son of Nasiruddin Sardar of Omarpur village, Shatkhira, and Jobayer Hossain, 20, son of Abdul Quaium of Paschim Maijdee village, Noakhali. Among the seven, three were residents of Dhaka. All except Naym were born in the '90s. Father of the American citizen Sazzad Rouf alias Arko, 24, a student of North South University (NSU), Tawhid Arko told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have a feeling that it is our son Arko, but we will still be going to the morgue to make sure.” Arko's name was also found in the updated missing persons list issued by Rapid Action Battalion. He went missing on February 3. Tawhid later went to DMCH morgue on Wednesday afternoon but left there still uncertain. He denied to make any comments. Later, Assistant Professor of DMC Forensic Department Sohel Mahmud told the media that Tawhid was confused about the dead body's identity and was advised to do DNA profiling. Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP (media and publication), told the Dhaka Tribune that police had obtain names and identities through various means. However, the bodies will only be handed over to families after proper verification, he added. Abdul Kaiyum, a driver working for Al-Amin Biscuit Factory, said he was the father of Jobayer, 20, and said his son was a second-year student of political science at Noakhali Government College. He told the Dhaka Tribune Wednesday morning: “The boy in the middle of the third row in the pictures released by the police is my son.” “After the Gulshan attack, everyone was talking about missing people getting involved in militancy. So, we filed a general diary with Shudharam police in this regard on July 12,” Kaiyum said. He said they were preparing to go to Dhaka as per police instruction. Abdul Kaiyum claimed Jubayer was a Shibir activist and was one of the six missing people in Noakhali. Meanwhile, relatives of Rasik, an electrical engineering student from North South University, said that he had been missing for the last six months. His family denied to talk to journalists. Alamgir Hossain, the manager of the building where Rasik's family lived, said the family was residing in flat number B-2 on the second floor. After joining the building he saw Rasik a few times but had not seen him in the last six months. He had heard that Rasik was studying in Sylhet for the last six months, Alamgir added.