B’desh arrests Islamic militant commander

DHAKA,Sunday (AFP)

Bangladesh’s crack security force said Saturday it had arrested a commander of an Islamic militant group and seized a large cache of explosives in a hunt for those responsible for nationwide blasts.

The Rapid Action Battalion said it arrested 27-year-old Zaiur Rahman, also known as Sagar, in the southwestern town of Khulna and seized explosives in a raid on a student dormitory late Friday.

The announcement came as two women were injured in a bomb blast in the southern port city of Chittagong, police said, adding they could not say immediately whether the blast was linked to Islamic militants.

“The two women were injured when a small bomb exploded in a garbage bin near Chittagong Seaport. One is in critical condition,” said Masud Parvez of the Chittagong port police station.

“We’re investigating ... no one has been arrested,” he added. Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) accused Sagar in a statement of being “the divisional second in-command of Jamayetul Mujahideen.”

Police have blamed the group for 434 synchronized blasts across Bangladesh August 17 and subsequent suicide bombings in cities and towns that have claimed the lives of 28 people, including four suicide bombers and injured hundreds.

Leaflets left at blast sites bearing the name of the outlawed group called for the imposition of strict Islamic law in the Muslim nation. Bangladesh’s legal system is based on English Common Law.The RAB alleged Sagar “supplied 34 bombs to militants for explosions in four districts (of Khulna) on August 17.” Khulna lies 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Dhaka.

Bangladesh’s judiciary has been a prime target of the bombers with four lawyers and two judges among the dead.RAB said the arrested man was making bombs at the student dormitory and that it had found large quantities of explosive materials along with three bombs and three detonators.

The country has mobilised thousands of police, paramilitary troops and the RAB to search for members of the group led by an Afghan war veteran.

Police had earlier arrested the group’s military head and chief coordinator of the suicide bombings at a hideout in Dhaka. They have said they are close to finding leader Shaikh Abdur Rahman who formed the group in 1998.

Meanwhile Police raided university dormitories detaining more than 100 people, in a precautionary move to ensure order on New Year’s Eve, police said.“Over 100 were arrested from Dhaka University residential halls. Most of them are not students of the university and we have learnt that they came here to join the New Year’s revelry,” Dhaka police chief Mizanur Rahman said.

Last Thursday, Rahman warned potentially “unruly” New Year’s Eve revellers to curb their enthusiasm, especially those planning to drink alcohol.

“Stern action will be taken against the young men who would be engaged in e immoral and objectionable activities,” Rahman said.

Alcohol can be consumed in licensed bars and private homes but drinking outdoors is not allowed in mainly Muslim Bangladesh.

The police chief said at least 5,000 troops would be on guard in the capital to keep a watch on any rowdy parties at Dhaka University campus and in the city’s upmarket districts.