Counter-terrorism police on Saturday arrested 10 Islamic extremists including six female operatives from the Moulvibazar District of Sylhet Division in Bangladesh near the Tripura border. The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) conducted an overnight special raid, codenamed ‘Operation Hill Sight’, inside a forest near the Indian border in the Kulaura police station area.
The counter-terrorism officials branded them as members of the newly launched extremist outfit Imam Mahmuder’s Kafela. The group follows the ideology of Ghazwa-e-Hind (Battle of India) and aims to establish control in the Indian subcontinent, said CTTC Chief Md Asaduzzaman.
Mr. Zaman added that the organisation is separate from the other banned extremist groups active in Bangladesh. The police have identified the mastermind of the extremist group but are still out of reach of the police.
The special unit of the police recovered 2.5 kilograms of explosives, 50 detonators, a training manual, swords, commando boots, and cash from their possession in the operation. Sources said around 20 to 25 extremists used to live in the newly built house in an acre of land but sensing the presence of police, the rest fled the spot.