 Security forces in Bangladesh have arrested Mufti Abdul Hannan, the alleged leader of the Bangladesh chapter of the Islamist militant group Harkatul Jihad, at a hideout in the capital Dhaka, police said on Sunday. They said Hannan had been in hiding since police found a powerful bomb, believed to be planted by Harkatul Jihad activists in July 2000, near a rally that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina addressed in the western Kotalipara area. Police recovered the remote-controlled bomb before it could be detonated and Hasina was not hurt.
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On Saturday night, members of elite Rapid Action battalion arrested Hannan at a house in Dhakaâs Madhya Badda area and also seized explosives and bomb-making materials. âHannan is being interrogated,â a senior police officer said, but would provide no further details.
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Police told reporters that Hannan, Harkatulâs operation commander in Bangladesh, was among the countryâs âtop terroristsâ they had been looking for years, but were not immediately sure if he or his men were involved in the Aug 17 countrywide serial bombings of this year.
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