Jhalakathi police busted a training camp of banned Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji) and detained nine suspected Islamic militants carrying a grenade, weapons and Jihadi books from Nalcity upazila of Jhalakathi early on Thursday.
Police said, acting on a tip off, they raided Kademul Islam Qoumi Madrasa at Uttar Kamdevpur area where the Huji team had been training, and apprehended the suspects who were carrying a grenade, four sharp weapons, and several Jihadi books.
The arrestees were Mashiur Rahman Talukdar alias Miron, 28, Nurul Islam, 26, Baki Billah, 18, Md Sohag, 31, Jubayer Haladar, 24, Moallem Qari Sirajul Islam, 44, Abul Bashar Mridha, 38, Minhazul Abedin, 18, and M A Azim, 26.
Md Majed Ali, police superintendent of Jhalakathi district, said Mashiur Rahman Talukdar alias Miron was the leader of local Huji and Moallem Qari Sirajul Islam was the regional leader who trained people for Jihad under the guidance of Huji to establish Islamic rule in the country.
Huji, a Sunni extremist group that follows the Deobandi tradition of Islam, was founded in 1980 in Afghanistan to fight in the Jihad against the Soviets.
Later, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh was established in 1992.
On April 30, 1992, leaders of the party addressed a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka and demanded that Bangladesh be converted into an Islamic State.
Huji claimed responsibility of 2001 Ramna Batamul bombings, which left 10 people dead.
Huji was the prime suspect in a scheme to assassinate the present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the year 2000, and has been blamed for a number of bombings in 2005.
In October 2005, the group was officially banned by the government of Bangladesh.
