The intelligence officials enquiring into militancy and bomb attacks suspect that militant groups other than Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) might have been behind some major bomb attacks since 1999. JMB top brass Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai, Ataur Rahman Sunny and others have admitted to carrying out all the blasts since August 17 last year, attacks on writer Humayun Azad and Prof Yunus in Rajshahi, blasts at cinemas in Mymensingh, circus and cinema in Satkhira and Failya Paglar Majar in Tangail, said sources.But the investigators have yet to extract information from them about the groups and persons responsible for the other major attacks that include the blasts in 1999 at Udichi conference in Jessore, Ahmadiyya mosque in Khulna, and in 2001, Pahela Boishakh celebration at Ramna Batamul, CPB conference at Paltan, Awami League (AL) leader Shamim Osman's meeting in Narayanganj, AL leader Sheikh Helal's meeting in Mollahat upazila of Bagerhat and Baniachang church in Gopalganj. They have not got clues also to Sylhet cinema blast in 2004, and the poisoning of fish at a Sylhet shrine in 2003 and at a Chittagong shrine in 2004. No groups have claimed responsibility for any of those attacks.
Other militant groups including now banned Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) that were active in the late 90s might have had hands in the attacks and their role needs to be investigated, an intelligence official told The Daily Star, seeking anonymity. Mufti Hannan, the detained operations commander of HuJi, has only admitted planting the 86kg bomb at the meeting venue of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina at Kotalipara in Gopalganj. Another investigator said the HuJi might also have had roles in some other bomb attacks and stressed the need for taking Hannan into further remand for interrogation in this regard. "He may hold some significant clues to those incidents even if he maintains that his group did not make those attacks," said a well-placed source.
Sources, meantime, yesterday said the JMB kingpins have admitted in last two days to their involvement in slaughtering five people at the shrine of Khwaja Abdul Gafur Chisti at Begungram village in Kalai upazila of Joypurhat on January 20, 2003 and the attempt on life of AL leader Tarapada Poddar at Mollahat in Bagerhat on August 16, 2002. Earlier some investigators had told the media that they would be able to unravel all the mystery behind the blasts and other militant attacks since 1999 once JMB chief Abdur Rahman and his deputy Bangla Bhai are rounded up. But the JMB heavyweights are yet to provide information about their links with the other attacks. "It seems likely other militant groups might be responsible for the attacks that took place before August 17 last year," said an intelligence official.
The source, however, said different groups were behind the attacks made with grenades. "The bomber groups and the grenade attackers are not the same," he added. Grenades were used in attacks on British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury at Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet, Sheikh Hasina's rally at Bangabandhu Avenue, Sylhet Mayor Badruddin Ahmed Kamran and Urs again at the Shahjalal Shrine.