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JMB military commander Sunny held

He was behind all suicide attacks; explosives warehouse found at Sabujbagh containing grenades, pistols, bullet dies, bomb-making gel; Ctg militant commander caught with bombs and ingredients

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has brought off a feat netting in two days two kingpins of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) -- its Operations Commander Ataur Rahman alias Sunny and Chittagong divisional chief Mohammad alias Aman Ullah.
It was only yesterday, 24 hours into the arrest of Sunny on Tuesday afternoon in the city's Tejgaon area, that the elite crime-busting force disclosed the news.
Sunny, younger brother of JMB chief Shaekh Abdur Rahman, is also one of the seven members of the highest policymaking body of the outlawed Islamist militant outfit.
Acting on his confession, Rab in the early hours yesterday recovered
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one of the biggest caches of JMB explosives, grenades, arms, ammunition, and bomb and bullet making paraphernalia from a Sabujbagh den in the city.
Earlier, on Tuesday night, Rab arrested Fariduzzaman Swapan, a close associate of Sunny, raiding his house at Kalabagan. Swapan reportedly helped the JMB in channelling funds through bank accounts.
In the port city, besides arresting Mohammad, Rab yesterday also held his associate Jafar and seized a huge quantity of explosives, bomb-making materials, books, pamphlets and audiocassettes at a JMB den at Kattali.
The Chittagong haul includes a blender bomb, seven flask bombs, 28 containers each containing 750gram ammonium nitrate, 29kg white and 3kg black gun powder, 500gram aluminium powder, 700gram potash, 200gram lead azide, 3.50kg sulphur, 69 pieces of powder gel explosives, 8kg chemical explosives, 20 hand grenades, two light guns, two dummy AK-47 rifles, one revolver and 38 electronic detonators.
RAB PRESS BRIEFING
Although the news that a big shot of JMB was caught at Tejgoan got around in the city on Tuesday, Rab officials kept mum about it. The silence and denial continued even after yesterday's Sabujbagh den busting.
Finally, at 4:00pm yesterday, the elite police force suddenly called a press conference at its headquarters and disclosed the arrest.
The Rab officials met the journalists at a hall room at 4:30pm and asked them not to ask any question to the arrestees. They brought Swapan and Sunny in front of the press at 4:47pm and asked them to identify themselves.
Sunny said, "My name is Ataur Rahman Sunny. I am a brother of Shaekh Abdur Rahman and my father's name is Ibne Fazle."
Swapan also identified himself. But at one point he broke into tears, saying he is innocent and not involved in any of the JMB activities.
ARREST OF SUNNY
Tipped off that Sunny would visit someone important at Latif dormitory of the Polytechnic Institute in Tejgaon, a team of the intelligence wing of intelligence wing of Rab headquarters took position inside the building at around Tuesday noon.
Sunny was arrested as soon as he entered the hostel, Rab told yesterday's press conference. Rab also seized Tk 44,982 in cash, a wristwatch and eight SIM cards from his possession.
Rab said Sunny, a member of JMB Majlish-e-Sura, used to run and coordinate all militant and terrorist operations, including the bomb attacks, of the banned organisation.
After the arrest, Sunny identified himself as commander Masuq Hassan Ahmed, director of JMB's legal and media wing, Rab told the press. But, Rab members became certain of his true identity by comparing his appearance with his photographs and varying some other information. And Sunny also owned up his real identity.
RAB RAIDS IN DHAKA
Based on the information extracted from Sunny, Rab on Tuesday night went out with him on a hunt for JMB militants and explosives. Rab teams made several raids in Tongi, Savar, Kalabagan and Manda areas.
A team first raided a house in Tongi and recovered some materials used to make suicide bombs and a huge quantity of partisan literature and combat training books, a Rab press release said yesterday.
Two youths rented the Tongi house two months ago, one identifying himself as a student of the Tongi College and the other as a madrasa student, Rab said quoting some locals, other tenants and the landlord.
Rab then raided another JMB den at Radio Colony in Savar and came across some ore bomb making materials and manuals. The tenants have been living there for a month, Rab said, adding the law enforcers also found some secret documents, diaries and papers of the MB.
A Rab team arrested Swapan, raiding his Kalabagan house.
Rab then raided several houses at Manda in Sabujbagh and finally, at about 6:00am yesterday, reached the Chhata Masjid Road den, from where it recovered the huge cache of explosives, arms and ammunition. The house is owned by one Abul Khair. MANDA RECOVERY
The seizure in Dhaka was made at a rented house used as a JMB hideout in South Manda in Sabujbagh. The identity of the JMB cadre who rented the house could not be known immediately.
The seizure includes 27 locally made grenades, 24 pistols, 34 pieces of power gel, 19 pieces of water gel, 50 pieces of electric detonators, 20 bomb-making circuits, 25 cartridge cases, 2kg of aluminium powder, 20kg of aluminium nitrate, about 70kg of other chemicals and 50 dry-cell batteries.
Rab also recovered bullet-making dies, bullets of rifle, revolver and pistol, a huge quantity of other bombmaking materials and over one thousand books and booklets on Islam, militancy and jihad.
The law enforcers without informing the local police broke into the room and found the hauls inside.
On information, the police rushed to the spot around 10:30am. Rab men did not disclose the names of any of the arrestees except Sunny and Swapan.
Rab picked up Suraiya Begum, wife of Abul Khair Bakhs, but could not hold her husband, who was missing since morning.
His family sources said he went out of the house to say Fajr prayers and was supposed to go to a bazaar for business purpose.
Suraiya, a diabetic patient, went on a walk and ran into the raiding Rab men. The elite forces asked her about the owner of the house and picked her up.
'MYSTERIOUS' TENANT
Suraiya told reporters a youth had come to rent the house two months ago. "He introduced himself as a cosmetics trader and wanted to rent a single room. We did not want him to rent the room, which needed some
repairs."
"But the youth insisted on taking it saying he would make the repairs by himself and would live there with his wife," she added.
The youth, who claimed to run cosmetics business at Baitul Mukarram Market, rented the eightfoot by 10-foot tin-shed room at Tk 1,100 a month.
Khair lives in a nearby two-storey building with his four children --Momena Sharmin Zinia, 22,
Mahmudul Haq Sampad, 18,
Shaheda Sharmin Laxmi, 9, and
Bahaul Haq Alaiya, 7, -- and his wife.
Locals said Khair is a tablig activist and the house is his only source of income, but his family claimed he is a contractor.
Suraiya, her family, tenants, neighbours and locals termed the youth 'mysterious' as they hardly saw him in the last two months.
"As he did not bring his wife to live with him even after a month, my sister [Suraiya] asked him about it," Selina Akhter Urmi told The Daily Star.
"In reply, he said his wife, who was at his village, was expecting and will come to him after the child is born."
The Bakhs family however could not give the name and address of the youth.
Nazma, Jebunnesa and Anwara, three tenants who live next and opposite to the room, told reporters they hardly saw the youth as his room remained locked most of the time.
"He hardly showed up, and on a rare meeting I asked him what he does for his living. He said he sells agarbati [incense sticks]," said local shopkeeper Selim.
But the tenant's neighbours said they have never seen or smelt any kind of such sticks in the youth's room. BOOKS & BOOKLETS
Among the books, a voluminous SSC test paper was found with a hole inside so that bombs or small arms can be hidden there.
The bomb attack on the Chittagong courtroom was launched using such a thick book on October 3.
The books are mostly on Islam, jihad, Afghan wars and Islamic revolution in Bangladesh.
Some of the books were published by Simum Publications and Ahle Hadith. The publishers usually publish the books of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of BNP's ruling partner Jamaat-e-Islami.
Simum Publications books are "Gulbagh theke Twin Tower" by Abul Asad, "Salatut Tarabih ba Muhahiter Azan", "Surigamer Sangkate" by Abul Asad and "Mafiar Parinaam".
The huge recovery of books also include "Sashastra Jihad" by Ibnu Abdul Matin of al Jihad, "Paper Fall" by Asad Bin Hafiz of Crusade Publications, "Kabar: Mullah Omorer Afghanistan Bangladesh Taliban" by Maolana Ubaidur Rahman Khan Nakvi of Kitab Kendra, "Shathik Akida Bidati Amoler Porichoy" by Engineer Samsuddin Ahmed of Ahle Hadith, "Bibhrantir Berajale" by Khalid Saifullah of Jannat Prashani, and "Deen Kayemer Shathik Akida".
CTG HAUL
Rab arrested suspected Chittagong Division Chief of JMB Mohammad alias Aman Ullah and his associate Jafar from a house in the city's Kattali area Tuesday night.
The battalion also recovered a large quantity of explosive materials, different types of bombs, books, pamphlets, bomb-making paraphernalia and some audiocassettes from the house.
Mohammad, 25, son of Maulana Abdul Awal of Khurushkul in Cox's Bazar, is suspected to be the organiser-in-charge of JMB activities in the entire Chittagong division including the city, Cox's Bazar and the three hill districts. He is also the suspected main planner of the recent bombings in the city, sources said.
Based on a tip-off, three special teams of Rab took position on Tuesday night at Pahartali, Kattali and their adjoining areas. At about 9:00pm they entered a tin-shed house at Kattali, owned by Didarul Alam, and arrested suspected JMB cadre Naimuzzaman alias Jafar alias Sohag.
After searching the five-room residence the Rab team found a large number of explosives, bombs, books and other materials in two of the rooms. The cache includes a blender turned into a bomb, seven flask bombs, 28 containers each containing 750 gram ammonium nitrate, 29 kg white and 3 kg black gun powder, 500 gram aluminium powder, 700 gram potash, 200 gram lead azide, 3.50 kg sulphur, 69 pieces of powder gel explosives, 8 kg chemical explosives, 20 hand grenades, two light guns, two dummy AK-47 rifles, one revolver and 38 electronic detonators
Rab officials said the explosives materials seized from Kattali could be used to manufacture a few hundred bombs.
At about 11:45pm, Mohammad alias Aman Ullah came to the house to meet his associates, totally unaware of the presence of Rab members. As soon as he knocked on the door a Rab officer in disguise opened it while the others caught him instantly and called in additional forces to encircle the area.
The arrested two were brought to Rab-7 headquarters at Patenga. After preliminary interrogations the Rab team set out yesterday morning with the two to several places in the city in search of more JMB men and weapons.
Rab officials said Mohammad, a former student of Dhaka Alia Madrasa also a student of the Arabic department in Dhaka University, had joined the JMB three to four years ago.
“His certificate name is Javed Iqbal but he used to use few aliases like Mohammad, Aman Ullah and Abu Hurrab,” Rab Deputy Director Osman Gani said.
He said Mohammad had his training in unarmed combat at Bagmara and later he concentrated his expertise as a planner of bomb attacks. For his skills, competence and success as a planner he was given the charge of leading JMB activities in the entire Chittagong division.
“Mohammad was the planner of all the bomb attacks on August 17, October 3 and November 29 in Chittagong while JMB bomb expert Mizan manufactured the bombs,” the
Rab official said.
Mohammad rented the Kattali residence about five to six months ago and used it as a safe 'warehouse' for manufacturing bombs and keeping explosives and other materials. The bombs were usually supplied from this den for detonation, Rab officials said.
“Mohammad was in Dhaka until Tuesday morning, had meetings with his mentor JMB leader Ataur Rahman Sunny also brother of JMB Chief Shaekh Abdur Rahman, and then returned to Chittagong the same night before his arrest,” said a Rab official.
Presenting a personal diary of Mohammad, Rab officials said he went to Kolkata on March 3, 2004 and returned home on March 12 the same year and obtained a nationality certificate from 24 Pargana district under an alias, Abu Hurrab.
Mohammad told Rab during interrogation that they used to fix targets in consultation with Shaekh Abdur Rahman.