Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Bangladesh

Five suspected militants held in Dhaka

2021-03-07

[DhakaTribune] The suspects belong to a banned Islamist outfit, says the Anti-Terrorism Unit

Police in Dhaka have arrested five people for their suspected involvement with a banned bully boy outfit.

The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) made the arrests during raids at the Farmgate and Mohammadpur areas in Dhaka.

Suspects Sheikh Kamal Hossain, Sohel Rana, AB Ahmed Pajlu, Khalequzzaman and Maniruzzaman belong to the group ’Allah'r Dal’.

ATU Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Aslam Khan told the media that Kamal and Shohel were held from Farmgate’s Tezturi Bazar neighbourhood on Wednesday evening.

Kamal is the outfit's second-in-command, he said before adding that the rest were arrested during raids at Sher-e-Bangla Road area in Katasur later the same night.

During the raids, 12 mobile phone sets, some credit cards, receipts of inmates and Tk37,062 were seized from their possession.

Afterwards, an anti-terrorism case was filed in this connection.

Allah'r Dal was formed in 1995 under the leadership of Matin Mehedi alias Mominul Islam, and in late 2004, the outfit merged with banned bully boy organization Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

On November 5, 2019, the government banned Allahr Dal, describing it as a threat to public safety.

Link

India-Pakistan

Pakistani accused of blasphemy gunned down in Peshawar court

2020-07-30

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Pak man facing charges of blasphemy

...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...
was rubbed out in court on Wednesday as he awaited the start of his hearing, police said.

Tahir Ahmad Nasim, 47, was a member of a persecuted sect whose faith has been deemed heretical in Pakistain because they challenge the succession of the Prophet Mohammed.

He had been escorted into court by police in the northern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
when a man opened fire with a pistol.

The victim went titzup while his 24-year-old attacker was arrested.

"He was killed by a young man inside the court while waiting his turn to appear before the judge," official Misal Khan told AFP.

Nasim was first arrested in April 2018 after a local accused him of blasphemy, a highly inflammatory charge in deeply conservative Pakistain that has sparked mob lynchings, vigilante murders and mass protests.

A conviction sometimes carries the death penalty

.

He was a member of the Ahmadiyya

...they’re the ones who actually believe in the inward, nonviolent jihad of the spirit, not external soft and hard jihads of conquest. For this they are pronounced heretics in much of the Muslim world...

Moslem community that many mainstream Islamic schools consider to hold blasphemous beliefs.

Link

Bangladesh

Ahmadiyya infant exhumed, left by the road in Brahmanbaria

2020-07-11

[Dhaka Tribune] In a shocking incident, some locals reportedly exhumed the body of an infant belonging to the Ahmadiyya community and left it by the road at Ghatura village in Sadar upazila of Brahmanbaria.The locals of the community are protesting this inhuman move and demanding punishment of the perpetrators after the incident took place on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Swapna Begum gave birth to a child at Christian Memorial Hospital in Brahmanbaria town. As the child was born with some complications, it was kept in an incubator.

However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
the infant died at 5:30am on Thursday and was buried at the government-owned graveyard at Ghatura village at 7am on that day.

Soon after the burial, moulvis of different mosques gathered some anti-Ahmadiyya youths by miking through mosque mikes. They later exhumed the body and threw on the road.

After learning of the incident, police came and the family later buried the dead body at another graveyard of the Ahmadiyya community at Kandirpara village at around 11:30am on Thursday.

Saiful Islam, the father of the infant, said: "Some anti-Ahmadiyya men gathered after my child was buried. They exhumed the body and kept it outside the wall of the graveyard. I could not recognize them as I do not live here."

SM Ibrahim, president of Ahmadiyya Moslem Jammat (local unit), said moulvis of different mosques gathered some anti-Ahmadiyya youths and they exhumed the body and threw it on the road.

Acknowledging the matter, Brahmanbaria Sadar cop shoppe Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Selim, said: "The dead body was buried at the graveyard of Ahmadiyya community at Kandir par area after we spoke with the locals."

Link

Arabia

Yemenis Seize Capital of Strategic al-Jawf as Saudi-led Mercenaries Retreat

2020-03-02

[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s armed forces, along with Ansarullah fighters, have taken control of the strategic city of al-Hazm, the capital of the northern al-Jawf province, as Saudi-led mercenaries retreated after losing ground in the region.

Sources close to Saudi-allied former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, confirmed Sunday that forces led by Yemen’s popular Ansarullah movement took control of al-Hazm, which is located only 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the border with Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
This came after fierce fighting with Saudi-led mercenaries who were forced to withdraw to neighboring Ma’rib province.

At least 30 Saudi-led forces, including high-ranking pro-Hadi officers, were killed in the fighting over the past two days.

Maged al-Madhaji, executive director of the Sana’a Center, a Yemeni think-tank, told AFP that the capture of al-Hazm could be a game-changer.

"Control of the capital of al-Jawf could totally change the course of the war. Iran's Houthi sock puppets

...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s have made an exceptional advance and are changing the balance" in their favor, he noted.

Link

Bangladesh

3 'top militants' of 'Allahr Dal' arrested

2019-12-19

[Dhaka Tribune] The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of police has arrested three suspected top members of the banned bad boy outfit "Allahr Dal".

...the old name of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)...

They were arrested in the Keraniganj area, on the outskirts of Dhaka, around 6:30am on Wednesday.

The arrestees are -- Abdullah Al Hasnat alias Kollol, 39, chief of the outfit's Khulna and Barisal divisions; Aminul Islam alias Shatu, 30, executive nayek of Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat districts; and Fazleh Karim alias Shohag, 32, head of the outfit's Khulna division.

ATU's Superintendent of Police (SP) (Intelligence) MM Hasanul Zahid said some members of the bad boy organization came to Keraniganj from Khulna and plotted to execute anti-state activities.

"Acting on a tip-off,
[RING!]
Cop shoppe! Sergeant Shafiq speaking!
Lissen! Dis is Mahmoud da Weasel! I got a tip for youse...
a team of ATU conducted a raid in the area and arrested them."

In the raid, a mobile phone, various documents of the outfit's activities, and books related to extremism were also recovered from their possession, he said.

During the primary interrogation, they admitted that they gathered in the area to promote religious extremism ideology to destroy the law and order situation, the official claimed.

A case was filed against them with the South Keraniganj cop shoppe under the Anti-Terrorism Act, he added.

Link

Bangladesh

Robber killed in Jhenaidah ‘gunfight’

2019-12-18

[Dhaka Tribune] An alleged robber was killed in a shootout with police in Jhenaidah's Maheshpur upazila early on Tuesday.

The dear departed, Shahrul Islam alias Khokon Hossain, 35, was wanted in several cases.

Maheshpur cop shoppe Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rashedul Alam said the robbers, who were preparing for robbery on the Kaliganj-Jibannagar route, opened fire on a patrolling police team.

The police fired several rounds in retaliation, triggering the shootout, the OC said.

Police found the injured Khokon and recovered a shutter gun, one round of ammunition and several sharp weapons, while the other robbers managed to flee the scene.
... as though they had never been...
at one point of the shootout, said the OC.

Police took Khokon to Maheshpur Upazila Health Complex where the doctors declared him dead.
He's dead, Jim!
added the OC.

Link

Bangladesh

4 suspected members of 'Allahr Dal' held

2019-12-13

[Dhaka Tribune] The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of police has arrested four suspected operatives of the banned turban outfit "Allahr Dal".

...banned only last month, Allahr Dal formed in 1995 under the leadership of Matin Mehedi alias Mominul Islam. In late 2004, the outfit merged with banned murderous Moslem organization Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)...

They were arrested in the Dilkhola area of Khulna city around 10:30pm on Wednesday.

The arrestees are -- Raja Miah alias Nur Alam, 31, joint district nayek of the turban outfit; Akejul Islam, 24, Md Ahsan Ullah alias Nirab, 27, both being assistant district nayeks; and Abdul Hamid alias Hamid, 35, a member of the organization.

ATU's Superintendent of Police (SP) (media) Md Mahiduzzaman said acting on a tip-off, they conducted a raid in the area and arrested them.

In the raid, four mobile phones and books related to extremism were also recovered from their possession, he said.

During the primary interrogation, the arrestees admitted their involvement in the turban organization, he added.

They gathered at the place to plan to kill state and religious figures and damage state property, Mahiduzzaman said.

"They believe that the democratic system prevailing in the country is the system of devil. And they use technology to implement their plans," he added.

"Legal action has been taken against them," he said.

Link

Bangladesh

Panthapath hotel attack: Police press charges against 14 militants

2019-12-10

[Dhaka Tribune] Police have pressed charges against 14 members of a new faction of banned Death Eater outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB)

...Pakistan sock puppet on the Taliban model, they were founded in 1998 with additional funding the government charities Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE. The core membership is estimated at 10,000, with ten times as many part time affiliates, many of the cadres also being members of the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami party...

over the bombing on a hotel in Dhaka's Panthapath area.

Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court General Recording Officer Sub-Inspector (SI) Shafayatul Islam said: "The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit Inspector Raju Ahmed, also investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet before the court on Monday."

The case has already been sent to Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal for hearing, he added.

On August 15, 2017, a member of New JMB, Saiful Islam, 21, went kaboom! at Hotel Olio International on Panthapath, only about 300m away from the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

The incident took place just three hours after President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister ~~the loathesome~~ Sheikh Hasina
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums...
, and other high-ups of the government paid their respects to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the museum in Dhanmondi on National Mourning Day.

Among the 14 Death Eater accused in the charge sheet, 10 of them have already delivered confessional statements in court. Militant Saiful Islam has not been named among the accused as he died when he detonated the bomb.

Link

Bangladesh

2 Ansarullah Bangla team members held in Dhaka

2019-12-07

[Dhaka Tribune] Rapid Action Battalion

(RAB) has arrested two suspected members of banned bad boy organization Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) from Dhaka’s Pallabi.

They were arrested Thursday night, reports UNB.

The arrestees are Manjurul Islam Shohag, 26, and Shukkur Ali, 22.

Confirming the matter, RAB 4 Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mizanur Rahman (media) said: "Acting on a tip-off,
[RING!]
Cop shoppe! Sergeant Shafiq speaking!
Lissen! Dis is Mahmoud da Weasel! I got a tip for youse...
a team of RAB 4 members conducted a drive in the Pallabi area, and arrested them."

The elite force officials recovered some leaflets and jihadi books from their possession.

No knives, shutter guns, or rounds of bullet? Not really worth the RAB’s time, unless they were incidental in the search for someone wanted on twelve planets, and therefore worth encontering.

Link

Bangladesh

7 to hang for Holey Artisan terror attack

2019-12-06

[Dhaka Tribune] A Dhaka court on Wednesday delivered the verdict in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack case, sentencing seven New JMB bully boyz to death and acquitting one of all charges.

The July 1, 2016, carnage saw 23 people killed, including 17 foreigners and two coppers, and ended when an army commando team stormed the cafe premises in Gulshan and shot the five attackers dead the next day.

The seven condemned to death are: Md Aslam Hossain alias Rashed alias Ryash, Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Abdus Sabur Khan alias Sohel Mahfuz, Hadisur Rahman Sagor, Rakibul Islam Regan, Shariful Islam Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.

The court ordered hanging them till death, apart from fining them Tk50,000 each.

The verdict, pronounced by Judge Md Majibur Rahman of the Anti Terrorism Special Tribunal, drew shouts of "Allahu Akbar" from the convicts, who showed no remorse.

Of the seven, Jahangir, Aslam, Shariful, and Sabur, were among those who planned the attack, Hadisur and Ripon supplied the arms, and Regan was the religious trainer of the attackers.

Jahangir also recruited the five cafe attackers: Nibras Islam, Mir Sabeh Mubashir, Rohan Imtiaz, Khairul Islam Payel, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal.

The eighth accused in the case, Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan, was acquitted of all charges as the charges were not proved beyond doubt by the prosecution.

All eight were either top leaders or members of New JMB, a splinter faction of banned Death Eater outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s, which remains obscure and probably defunct today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
, or JMB.

The accused were brought to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court premises around 10:15am, where security was beefed up ahead of the verdict in the case filed for the deadliest terror attack in Bangladesh’s history.

The state counsels said they were happy with the verdict and will appeal to a higher court if necessary, against Boro Mizan’s acquittal.

Defence lawyers said the witness testimonies and evidence were inconsistent, and they will definitely move to the higher courts challenging the verdict.

Inspector General of Police Dr Javed Patwary said the police was pleased with the sentencing, save for the acquittal of Boro Mizan. He said they will ask the prosecution to appeal against it.

Link

Bangladesh

Allahr Dal militant held in Gaibandha

2019-11-13

[Dhaka Tribune] Rapid Action Battalion

(RAB) has detained an alleged member of banned bully boy organization Allahr Dal in Gaibandha.
"Into th' paddy wagon wit' yez!"
Al Shahariya Rokan, 32, a regional nayek of Allahr Dal, was detained from Elisa Super Market in Sadar upazila on Tuesday.
"Drop the bananas and put yer hands up!"
Assistant Director and Media Officer of RAB 13 Khondker Golam Mortuza said: "After primary interrogation,
"Aaaaiiieee! Make him stop! I confess!"
"To what?"
"I dunno! Think of something!"
Shahariya said he has been involved with the banned bully boy outfit since 2001.

"Shahariya used to extort money for the organization," Mortuza added. "He was attempting to reorganize by recruiting members."

Mortuza said a team of RAB 13 detained Shahariya acting on a tip-off.
[Ring! Ring!]
"RAB 13! How may I help you?"
"Lissen! Dis is Mahmoud da Weasel..."
They are carrying on their operation to find Shahariya's associates.

Link

Bangladesh

Extremist outfit Allahr Dal banned in Bangladesh

2019-11-07

[Dhaka Tribune] The government has banned hard boy outfit Allahr Dal, terming it as a threat to public safety.

In an official notification yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the group has been banned as its activities pose a threat to public safety and security.

The move came a day after Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan mentioned that the government would ban eight hard boy outfits.

"Intelligence agencies have already received inputs on eight outfits, and steps will be taken against them," he said then before adding it was already decided to outlaw Allahr Dal.

Allahr Dal was formed in 1995 under the leadership of Matin Mehedi alias Mominul Islam, and in late 2004, the outfit merged with banned murderous Moslem organization Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

In August this year, the Rapid Action Battalion

(RAB) claimed to arrest four of its activists, including acting chief Ibrahim Ahmed Hiro.

As JMB faced a serious blow following arrests of its top leaders following the 2005 countrywide kabooms, Matin left JMB with his followers and tried to reorganize as Allahr Dal, police sources said.

Matin was arrested in 2007 when he was still the chief of the outfit, according to RAB.

Benar News adds:

The Bangladeshi government on Wednesday banned the militant group Allahr Dal (Allah’s Party) after officials thwarted a plot to spring its leader from prison and launch terror attacks in the country, a senior cabinet minister said.

Khan said authorities had determined that Allahr Dal, which once started as a small group in northern Gaibandha district, was attempting to bolster its ranks in Dhaka and in the southeastern coastal city of Chattogram by distributing extremist pamphlets.

JMB leaders had tasked Allahr Dal members to hurl bombs on Aug. 17, 2005, when around 500 small improvised explosives went off in 300 locations in the country, Monirul Islam, chief of the Bangladeshi police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit, told BenarNews.

“They carried out bomb attacks in some places,” Islam said, referring to Allahr Dal.

Officials said at least two people were killed and dozens of people were injured in the blasts. JMB claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Islam said a militant leader named Motin Mehdi, a native of Gaibandha, founded Allahr Dal.

In 2011, a court in Kurigram district sentenced Mehdi to life in prison after he was found guilty of involvement in the 2005 bombings. Another court in Jhenaidah district had also recently sentenced him to death. In the court verdict, he was identified as a JMB leader, officials said.

Mehdi remains in prison after his sentencings, Islam said.

But members of Allahr Dal continue to operate despite his imprisonment, authorities said.

On Aug. 19, members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) presented four suspected Allahr Dal members during a news conference in Dhaka. Officials said the suspects had planned to attack a prison van that was scheduled to transport Mehdi, the Allahr Dal leader.

RAB members seized mobile phones and computer flashdrives from the suspects.

On Sept. 17, police also detained eight suspected Allahr Dal members during a raid in the southwestern Meherpur district.

Sheikh Zahidul Islam, additional police superintendent in Meherpur, told BenarNews three women were among the eight suspects, including one who said she joined Allahr Dal 18 years ago.

“We came to know about the activities of Allahr Dal in Meherpur through the arrest of one of its members,” he said.

Link

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