Dhaka: A suspected member of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been detained, and several crude bombs along with bomb-making materials have been recovered during a raid by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on a building in Savar. The operation continued into the early hours of Wednesday.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the detainee was identified as Arif Hossain, 25. The operation was launched at a four-storey building owned by Abdul Jalil in the Dakkhin Shyampur area, with assistance from local police in the evening. Locals reported that CTTC members surrounded the building shortly after 7:00 pm and cordoned off the area, prompting the evacuation of residents from around 10 neighboring houses as a precautionary measure.
Officer-in-Charge of Savar Model Police Station, Saiful Alam, stated that CTTC personnel detained Arif from the house and recovered several crude bombs and materials used to make explosives from the building. Around 10:30 pm, some CTTC members were seen leaving the area with Arif, heading towards Dhaka, but they declined to comment to journalists. One member mentioned they were taking the detainee to another location as part of the operation.
Later, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) joined the operation. Around 12:10 am on Wednesday, a crude bomb was thrown at the law enforcers from inside the building. Earlier in the evening, CTTC members, accompanied by the bomb disposal unit and local police, positioned themselves near the building beside a waterlogged road in Shyampur. At the start of the operation, CTTC personnel asked journalists and other civilians to move away from the building, citing security concerns.
OC Saiful Alam confirmed that a significant quantity of explosives was recovered during the operation. Members of the CTTC bomb disposal unit removed the explosives using special precautions. Based on reliable information, Arif was detained on suspicion of having links with a militant organization, while the explosives were recovered from the same premises, the OC added.