The United States has lauded Bangladesh on its efforts to deny domestic and transnational terrorists safe haven and targeting opportunities in Bangladesh.

It said the government also acted on its pledge to focus serious attention on counter-terrorism, which resulted in the arrest of several high-profile terrorism-related figures in Bangladesh, including some from Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT).

In an annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2009 released in Washington DC on Thursday, the State Department said that immediately after taking office in January 2009, the Awami League (AL)-led government began a crackdown on domestic and transnational terrorist groups.

As a result, Bangladesh and India improved their counter-terrorism cooperation during the year, which helped arrest of several senior members of the United Liberation Front of Assam.

In November, the report said Bangladesh arrested several extremists alleged to have ties to LT, the organisation believed to be responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attack, Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami-Bangladesh, and other extremist groups.

“The arrests were evidence of the government's efforts to deny transnational terrorists safe haven and targeting opportunities in Bangladesh,” said Daniel Benjamin, coordinator, Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism, while releasing the report.

However, Jamaatul Mujahedin

Bangladesh, the banned domestic Islamist extremist group responsible for a wave of bombings and suicide attacks in late 2005, remained a threat, said the report.

During the first three months of 2009, authorities arrested several suspected JMB members and uncovered weapons caches that included grenades and chemicals that could be used to make explosives, added the report.

In February, the AL-led government adopted into law the Money Laundering Prevention Act (MLPA) and the Antiterrorism Act.

Although not fully compliant with international standards, the MLPA addressed many flaws in the 2002 money laundering law and antiterrorist financing into the Bangladeshi legal system for the first time.

The laws facilitated international cooperation and established a financial intelligence unit (FIU) at the Bangladesh Bank. The new laws are part of the effort to enable Bangladesh to enter the Egmont Group, the international body of FIUs that plays a critical role in fighting terrorist financing.

The report said Bangladeshi government has also championed the creation of a South Asia counter-terrorism task force that countries could use to work together regionally to stamp out the rise of violent extremism.

US and Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies cooperated well on several cases related to domestic and international terrorism. Bangladesh worked with the US to further strengthen control of its borders and land, sea, and air ports of entry, the State Department report added.