Local militants have been receiving special training from Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to target crowded public places as well as attacking secured facilities like police stations, detectives have learned.
The information was extracted during the interrogation of 30-year-old Huji-B operation wing leader Md Khairul Bashar alias Ibrahim, who was arrested from the capital’s Sayedabad yesterday by the DB bomb disposal unit.
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (Huji-B) operative Ibrahim had received a three-month training from the LeT last year on how to attack “soft and hard targets,” said Detective Branch Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam.
During his training period, Ibrahim learned how to make, plant and execute bombs attacks successfully as well as receiving tactical training on operating different types of firearms, the DB boss told a press conference at the DMP Media and Community Centre.
In militant jargon, “soft target” meant crowded places like markets, rail stations and hospitals – where maximum destruction would be possible, Monirul said, adding that “hard target” meant secured places like police stations or top institutions.
Ibrahim was the first one to receive LeT training, while around 12 more Huji-B militants have since received training after travelling to Pakistan on tourist visas, the official said. Before leaving for Pakistan, the selected Huji-B men also received physical training at a madrasa located in a remote area in Chittagong, he added.
Although the DB chief refused to disclose the location of the madrasa because of ongoing investigation, he said it was suspected that the site was also used to train militants for a so-called jihad.
During primary interrogation, Ibrahim also admitted he had been waiting for an order from the Huji-B high command to carry out an attack, as well as confessing to the detectives that the outfit had to delay their plans several times as it was taking too much time to get the bombs ready at their weapons lab.
Ibrahim, the eighth Huji-B member to have been arrested in the past two weeks, was responsible for the outfit’s weapons and bomb laboratory in Narayanganj – which was busted by the DB police on October 25. The lab was being used to research on how to produce weapons like AK-47 rifles or large-scale explosives.
The DB joint commissioner said Huji-B members were frustrated as they were unable to move ahead with any plan because of the lack of directives from the top leaders.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court has granted a six-day remand against Ibrahim, who was shown arrested in a case filed with the Wari police station.
Metropolitan Magistrate Mollah Saiful Islam granted the remand after DB Sub-Inspector SM Raisul Islam, also the investigation officer of the case, placed him before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday.
On October 25, four Huji-B members including their operation wing chief were arrested by the DB police from the capital and Narayanganj. Again on November 1, three more Huji-B members were detained from the capital’s Postogola.
