Dhaka attack probe: Four top JMB militants arrested in Bangladesh

Four Islamist militants of the banned homegrown terror outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), including its regional head, were arrested in Bangladesh's Gazipur on 21 July.

Authorities claim that the outfit was responsible for the 1 July attack on a cafe in Dhaka, which claimed the lives of 22 people.

The four militants were arrested after the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided a hideout of the JMB in Gazipur's Tongi early on 20 July. Mahmudul Hassan Tanvir, the 'Emir' of the group's southern region was among the arrested persons, the RAB spokesperson said.

The other three have been identified as Ashiqul Akbar Abesh, Najmus Shakib and Rahmatullah Shuvo.

RAB's media wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan said a huge quantity of weapons, ammunition and bomb-making material have been recovered from the house. Khan said the RAB swung into action after receiving a tip-off that the four were present in a building.

Khan said these four had taken shelter in the house during Ramadan and that the house was used to train JMB recruits. He said that eight bombs and bomb-making material, a pistol, a magazine, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, eight machetes and some jihadi literature have been seized from the house.

Security forces have been looking JMB hideouts since the attack on Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, but the government denied their presence in Bangladesh, saying homegrown JMB militants were responsible for the assault.

--PTI