Ansar Al-Islam planned to attack law enforcement: CTTC

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of Bangladesh Police say Ansar Al-Islam planned to attack patrol teams of the Bangladesh Police and Border Guard Bangladesh in Dhaka and Sylhet.

After a massive attack on the law enforcement agencies, members of the banned outfit planned to go to Afghanistan, said Md Asaduzzaman, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and chief of the CTTC, on Sunday, during a briefing in Dhaka Metropolitan Police's media centre.

The CTTC arrested four members of the militant group – Jasimul Islam alias Jack, 25, Abdul Mukit, 29, Aminul Haque, 20 and Sajib Aktiyar, 20 – from Mohammadpur in the capital on Saturday. The police seized a bag, a knife, and fives smartphones from their possession.

Jasimul is a first-year student at a private university in Dhaka while Mukit is a teacher in a madrasa in Habiganj's Nabiganj. Aminul and Sajib are both students at an Islamic Institute and a government college in Sylhet respectively.

"The Ansar Al-Islam members had also surveyed locations and the movement of law enforcement to make a detailed plan on how they would execute the attacks," Asaduzzaman added.

He said the banned militant outfit made a group named "Science Project" on Telegram, a mobile phone chatting app which provides end-to-end encrypted video calling, VoIP, file sharing, etc.

After conducting a massive attack on law enforcement in Bangladesh, they intended to go to Afghanistan where some other members of the group had already moved to, he said.

As per instructions from their senior members, the arrested recently stabbed the manager of a hotel in Sylhet and managed to escape.