Bnagladesh and Terrorists Bomb After Bomb After Bomb...

Ray · 08-23-2005, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Bomb After Bomb After Bomb...

That a conspiracy of such magnitude could escape the notice of intelligence agencies defies belief. And there is evidence of an enveloping smokescreen going up -- Bangladesh is, in fact, eager to deflect suspicion away from the Islamist extremist groups.
AJAI SAHNI

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Even for those who have long focused on the growth of Islamist extremism and terror in Bangladesh, the sheer scale and dispersal of the 459 coordinated bomb blasts within a single hour, across 63 of the country’s 64 districts, on August 17, 2005, came as a surprise. Indeed, recoveries of a number of unexploded devices, as well as arrests and the discovery of cottage ‘bomb factories’, including one in the single district – Munshiganj – which escaped the serial blasts (but where over a hundred bombs were recovered from a house at Baligaon village), suggest that the numbers could well have been larger.

Over the past years, Islamist extremist activities have only been noticed in a few of Bangladesh’s western districts including, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Kushtia (each sharing border with the Indian State of West Bengal), Bogra, Natore and Pabna. The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and its twin organisation, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – the latter is widely held responsible for the August 17 explosions – have been known to be active in these districts.

Southern Districts, including Bandarban, Cox’s Bazaar, Chittagong, Khagrachhari, Rangamati (sharing borders with Myanmar and the Indian States of Mizoram and Tripura) have also witnessed significant extremist activity attributed to the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-BD) and its international partners, including the Al-Qaeda.

In addition, Sylhet in east Bangladesh, sharing a border with Indian state of Assam, has also seen some Islamist terrorist violence, prominently including the May 21, 2004, attack in which two persons were killed and the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury, was among some 70 injured in a powerful bomb blast at Hazrat Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet. There was, however, little cumulative evidence of capacities in any single terrorist organisation – or known coalition of such organisations – that could engineer a nationwide strike of such a magnitude. Nor, indeed, is it credible that such capacities, involving thousands of persons, could have systematically been acquired without generating a substantial volume of intelligence ‘chatter’ – if not actual precursor incidents and arrests.

Intelligence sources estimate that at least two persons would have been involved in the planting of each explosive device – suggesting an operation mobilizing well over a thousand cadres through the length and breadth of the country. That a conspiracy of such magnitude could escape the notice of intelligence agencies defies belief.

Equally incredible, indeed ludicrous, is the Minister of State for Home, Lutfozzaman Babar’s statement that, "We had intelligence reports of some attacks between August 14 and 16, but we had no information of attacks on August 17." Terrorist plans don’t come with an inbuilt and irrevocable ‘expiry date’, after which everyone goes home. [Babar quickly shifted his position, claiming shortly thereafter that the incidents were "totally unexpected. None of us had any idea about such an incident."] Separately, an unidentified ‘security official’ disclosed in The Daily Star, "We were told that there might be attacks on Awami League rallies and meetings." He clarified, however, that, "This was not a specific warning, but we stepped up security across the country on August 14, 15 and 16." There is no explanation why security was then ‘stepped down’ on August 17.

While the sheer number of explosions is startling, the bombs were all of low intensity and of crude manufacture, clearly intended to communicate a message, rather than to inflict hard damage to life and property. That is why, despite the scale of the operation, only two persons were killed, and the total number injured were estimated at just 100.

Most of the targets were government establishments, mainly offices of the local district administration and courts.

Significantly, just two hours after Prime Minister Khaleda Zia left for China from the Zia International Airport, on a five-day official tour, a time bomb went off on the stairs inside the Airport. The districts that witnessed the largest number of explosions included Dhaka (28 explosions, including the high-security Bangladesh Secretariat, Supreme Court complex, the Prime Minister's Office, Dhaka Judges Court, Dhaka University, Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, and Zia International Airport); Barisal (18); Chittagong (16); Khulna (15); Sylhet (15); and Rajshahi (12).

Some 300 persons have since been arrested, including a number of low level activists of the JMB, and the government has circulated photographs of 15 leaders of four militant organisations, including Maulana Abdur Raman and Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, to all airports and land ports in Bangladesh to prevent them from leaving the country. Interrogations of persons arrested in the immediate aftermath of the explosions, including some who confessed to their involvement, revealed that they claimed allegiance to the JMB, the group whose leaflets and propaganda material was recovered near the site of several explosions.

There is, nevertheless, evidence of an enveloping smokescreen going up, and that the state is, in fact, eager to deflect suspicion away from the Islamist extremist groups. Several leaders of the ruling coalition – including some from Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s ostensibly secular Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have sought to shift the blame to the Awami League. Despite interrogation reports confirming JMB involvement, the Deputy Minister for Land, Ruhul Quddus Talukder, a BNP Member of Parliament, declared, "I don’t think they (the JMB) have such a strong network. Awami League must have done this, using fake leaflets, to destroy Bangladesh’s image internationally." Mufti Fazlul Haq Amini, Chairman of the Amini faction of the Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ-Amini), a constituent member of the ruling four-party alliance, addressing a rally in front of the Baitul Mukarram Mosque, Dhaka, on August 19, declaimed: "Swearing upon Allah, I know the 14-party alliance of Awami League and left parties launched the bomb attacks in a planned way to uproot the Islamic forces, but Islamic forces can never be eliminated."

Gradually, however, the emphasis is being shifted, and India has now been brought into the picture. The Jamaat-e-Islami amir (chief) and Industries Minister, Matiur Rahman Nizami (the Jamaat is another coalition partner in the BNP-led coalition government), blamed India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Israel’s Mossad for "playing an important role" in the August 17 attacks, claiming, "They are the patrons of the serial blasts as they don’t want good relations between Bangladesh and China. That's why the incident occurred when Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was on a visit to Beijing." While Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan distanced the government and the BNP from Nizami’s statements, stating that "his voice is not BNP’s voice", he went on to add that it was "too early to go into speculations whether Islamist terrorists are present in the country or not."

This is entirely consistent with Dhaka’s past record. With enormous evidence of the activities of Islamist terrorists – including the JMJB and the JMB – accumulating over the past years, Dhaka kept up a steady stream of denials till fairly recently. Indeed, on January 26, 2005, State Minister for Home, Lutfozzaman Babar, had declaimed, "We don’t know officially about the existence of the JMJB.

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp...esh&sid=2&pn=3

Ostrich?

Karthik · 08-24-2005, 10:45 AM

They can no longer be in denial about this problem.

They've been telling everyone that terrorists dont exist in Bangladesh.

So what about these bombs, they appeared on their own out of thin air, did they?

hammer · 08-24-2005, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karthik

So what about these bombs, they appeared on their own out of thin air, did they?

Wait for sometime and you will read a conspiracy theory linking India to those blasts, posted by a very interesting member of this board.

Karthik · 08-24-2005, 12:33 PM

If the tsunami can be triggered by Israel, India and the US by conducting massive underwater nuclear tests, then these bombings are a trifle aren't they?

How thick could people get hammer?

Ray · 08-24-2005, 13:54 PM

You mean the spinner?

Karthik · 08-25-2005, 01:39 AM

Well Sir, the one who has been accused - the Industries Minister has in turn blamed India for the blasts.

How on earth does this country run? And are we to believe that people actually believe such trash?

Quote:

India rejects Bangladesh minister's charge on serial blasts

Indo-Asian News Service

Dhaka, August 21, 2005

The Indian High Commission on Sunday rejected a Bangladeshi minister's charge that New Delhi was involved in the Aug 17 serial blasts in the country.

"The government of India strongly rejects the allegations contained in these statements and expresses its deep concern that a senior minister of the Bangladesh government should have made such unfounded and irresponsible statements," said a press statement issued on Sunday by the Indian High Commission here.

Industry Minister and chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladeshi Motiur Rahman Nizami had levelled the charges.

"Statements of this kind undermine efforts to promote friendly and good neighbourly relations between Bangladesh and India," the high commission statement added.

It also recalled that the Indian government had termed the blasts a terrorist attack and offered to help Bangladesh probe the incident.

Nizami at a press conference on Saturday had accused Indian intelligence agency Research and Analyses Wing (RAW) of setting up Jamaatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh outfit to conduct terrorist activities in this country.

Nizami, a top leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party ruling coalition, also blamed main opposition Awami League for patronising Jamaatul Mujaheedin, which was banned along with Jagrata Muslim Janata outfit in February.

"RAW created Jamaatul Mujaheedin, which was primarily blamed for conducting the Aug 17 bomb blasts in Bangladesh," Nizami claimed.

"Jamaatul Mujaheedin leader Abdur Rahman had been trained in India for 21 months by the Indian intelligence agency," he alleged.

Link

How many people is he blaming at one go? Lol.

First RAW, the Awami League and then God knows who else.

08-24-2005, 10:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
Karthik Seeker of Rivendell *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 12-15-04 Posts: 1,569 Country:	They can no longer be in denial about this problem. They've been telling everyone that terrorists dont exist in Bangladesh. So what about these bombs, they appeared on their own out of thin air, did they? __________________ "There is no excellence in all this world that can be separated from right living." - David Star Jordan My Blog

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08-24-2005, 12:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Karthik Seeker of Rivendell *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 12-15-04 Posts: 1,569 Country:	If the tsunami can be triggered by Israel, India and the US by conducting massive underwater nuclear tests, then these bombings are a trifle aren't they? How thick could people get hammer?

08-24-2005, 13:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,292 Country:	You mean the spinner?

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