In the wake of the recent spate of terror attacks including the August 17 countrywide bomb blasts, the government yesterday banned all activities of another Islamist outfit, Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Bangladesh (HJAIB), for its involvement in religious militancy in the country. Earlier, the government had banned Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on February 23 this year for their involvement in "killings, robberies, bomb attacks and misleading youths by exploiting religious sentiment". A press note issued by the Home Ministry said that the action was taken against the Islamist outfit because its activities are "very sensitive" and "it is identified as a terrorist organisation." Harkatul Jihad is a self-styled militant organisation, the press note added.Jihadi activities started in the country with the emergence of Islamist militant group Harkatul Jihad in 1984. Religious zealots Matiur Rahman, Maulana Abdur Rahman Faruki and Mufti Abdul Hannan formed Harkatul Jihad and later they announced the launch of the extremist outfit at a press conference at the National Press Club in 1992.
Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Bangladesh (HJAIB) was involved in the August 17 cross country bombings in which two people were killed and more than 200 injured. The Harkatul Jihad planted a powerful bomb near the dais of an Awami League rally at Kotalipara in Gopalganj on July 20, 2000 in a bid to kill the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who was the chief guest at the rally. Police recovered 76 Kg explosives from near the stage. HJAIB was also involved in the bomb attacks on a cultural function at Ramna Batamul marking Pahela Baishakh on April 14, 2001. Some 10 people were killed and about 50 injured in the bloody attack. Harkatul Jihad also carried out bombings on Alalpak Darbar Sharif in Faridpur and Ahmadiya mosque in Khulna. The Islamist outfit also bombed Baniarchar Catholic Church in Gopalganj district on June 3, 2001 leaving 10 people dead, sources said.
The activities of militant groups have spread across the country, especially in the northern and south-western regions since 1998. Abdur Rahman formed JMB in 1998 after returning from Afghanistan. The Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (AHAB) was the first open organisation of the JMB.
Jagrata Muslim Janata (JMJ) came to the surface in 2001 and the jihadi activities of the dreaded Islamist outfit, including public execution of its rivals in Rajshahi, had sent shockwaves through the country in mid-2004. Its militant campaigns were geared up after the formation of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in 1998, sources in intelligence agencies said.
Bomb blast incidents have been plaguing the country since 1999 following the emergence of the JMB. The most dreaded four Islamist militant groups in the country are Harkatul Jihad, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMJ), Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB).
At least 150 people were killed and about 1,000 others injured in major terror attacks in Bangladesh since 1999. Sources said, the four Islamist militant outfits carried out subversive activities in the country through 500 guerrilla units. Nearly one lakh religious zealots are active in the country for establishing their rule.
Terrorism Research Centre, a research organisation under the supervision of CIA (Central Intelligence Agency of America), revealed that Harkatul Jihad, Jamaatul Mujahideen and National Liberation Front of Tripura were responsible for the terror attacks in Bogra and Sirajganj on February 17, 2005, and in Habiganj on January 27, 2005. The three groups were also involved in the terror attacks in Tungipara on October11, in Rajbari on September 28, in Dhaka on September 1 and 6, in Dhaka on August 21, in Sunamganj on June 22 in the year 2004. The three groups were also involved in the attack at Rangamati on February 16, 2001.
Earlier on October 1, the elite strike force RAB arrested Mufti Abdul Hannan, the Harkatul Jihad supremo and the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina, along with his wife and four children from a house in the city. Later, Hannan was placed on a 10-day police remand on October 2 in connection with the August 17 bombings in Mohakhali area in the city. He was also taken on a five-day remand for the second time on October 12. The members of the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) are now quizzing Mufti Hannan about his involvement in the August 17 bombings and also his links with Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai.
According to intelligence sources, Hannan disclosed a dozen names of influential political leaders including lawmakers belonging to the ruling four-party alliance under whose supervision he conducted the activities of his terror outfit. But the source declined to give details. During interrogation Hannan said that Dr Asadullah Al Ghalib, chief of Ahle Hadith Andolon, Bangladesh (AHAB), Shaikh Abdur Rahman, supremo of Jamaatul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) and Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai, chief of Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB) had visited his village home at Kotalipara several times, sources said. Hannan said that he himself planted the 76-kg bomb near the dais of the Awami League rally at Kotalipara in Gopalganj on July 20, 2000 in a bid to kill Sheikh Hasina. Hannan also gave information about the possible hideouts of Abdur Rahman and Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai.