Foreigners were involved in the Aug. 17 series of bombings in which two people were killed and over 200 injured, intelligence agencies said. The agencies have prepared a list of foreigners allegedly involved in the explosions. Most of the foreigners included in the list are from Pakistan and the Middle East. They include Maulana Nur Ahmed, Maulana Yasin, Hafiz Monir Hossain, Touhid Wahab, Mehbub Nur, Joynuddin Khan, Ahmed Abdullah, Ahmed Shah ibn Sharif, and Shah Nur-e-Islam. Intelligence sources claimed that six of the foreigners were certainly involved in the bombings. The foreigners had close ties with the banned outfit Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB), sources said. The intelligence agencies are collecting more information about the foreigners. Ruling out JMBs link with any international terror group, Inspector General of Police Abdul Quaiyum said the agencies had not been able to link JMB with any foreign terror group.
| That's my feeling, too. I'd guess JMB is closer in spirit to the Wazir Taliban than to al-Qaeda. HUJI is the local al-Qaeda affiliate, and we seldom hear anything about them. |
A Bangladesh court yesterday ordered detention for nine days of suspected militants for interrogation, sources said. The three suspects were arrested in two separate raids in an eastern town of Comilla, officials said. They are alleged members of 
In a predawn swoop before the New Year revelry here, police raided dormitories of Dhaka University and detained at least 100 people yesterday. The identity of the detainees was not revealed, but police said they were not students and were staying at the university dormitories without permission. They were detained as a precautionary measure before the New Yearâs Eve celebrations, police said. A huge contingent of police raided 12 dormitories of the countryâs largest university and detained the group of mostly young people.
Bangladeshâs main opposition Awami League party called for the ouster of a minister for his alleged support for the establishment of Islamic rule in the country, sources said yesterday. Calls by the Awami League for the sacking of Industry Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami â who is head of the Jamaat-I-Islami party â coincide with calls from leftist secular groups to ban religion-based politics in the Moslem majority country.
Three 
The ruling coalition government in Bangladesh plans to shut down madrasas, which they claim were being used as militant training camps, a report said yesterday. The Home Ministry was preparing a list of madrasas which reportedly served as camps to train cadres of the 
Police yesterday arrested 15 more suspected activists of a banned group blamed for the serial bombings which rocked Bangladesh last week. Two people were killed and 100 others were injured in the serial bombings which rocked Bangladesh last week, sources said. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts aimed at spreading fear and panic, police said. Copies of a leaflet found at the bomb sites carried a call by 
