The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

At least seven-suspected militants of outfit Jam'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were arrested from Sadar and Gobindaganj upazilas yesterday along with a "huge" quantity of explosives four days before the country goes to its first polls in seven years.

In the first raid law-enforcers arrested Rezaul Karim, a regional commander of the district-unit JMB, from his Bhatpara Gopalpur village in Sadar upazila at about 11:00pm.

As per his statement, two other suspected militants--Alamin of Char Shibpur village and Manzurul Islam of Dalbari Satbari village in Gobindaganj upazila--were arrested from their respective villages.

As per his statement, two other suspected militants - Al Amin of Char Shibpur and Manzurul Islam of Dalbari Satbari village in Gobindaganj upazila--were arrested from their respective homes.

Bomb making materials and some books were also recovered from the possession of Al Amin and Manzurul, police said. Following their confessional statements, police today picked up Mustafizur Rahman (32) of Bogdaha, Nannu Mia (32) and Amjad (40) of Chandpara village in Govindaganj upazila and Rawshan Ali (40) of Harinsingha village in Sadar upazila from their homes.

Police Super Moniruzzaman yesterday said the seven arrested persons admitted during interrogation to having links with JMB.

The three are members of the banned Islamic extremist group JMB that has been blamed for a series of blasts in 2005 that killed at least 28 people, the police chief of northern Govindaganj district said.

"We raided their premises acting on a tip-off. We seized a huge quantity of explosives and grenade casings. The explosives were enough to make at least 50 grenades," he said.

He said the three include a regional commander of the JMB, which intelligence officials said has been trying to reorganise in recent months after its leaders were arrested and executed in March 2007.

"The three also disclosed the names of some other JMB members, who

will be arrested shortly," the SP said about operation against the network, detected at a time of reports regarding the regrouping of these outlaws in different parts of the country.

The triple arrest came just days after two suspected militants from the same group were arrested in the southeastern Comilla district after one hurled a grenade at a member of the country's elite security force.

The raid happened in an area where two hours earlier Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia was holding a rally ahead of Monday's election that will restore democracy after two years of an army-backed regime.

Khaleda, an ex-premier, said the extremists were plotting to kill her ahead of elections.

On the same day, a court sentenced to death three members of another banned group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HUJI) for a 2004 attack on the British High Commissioner to the impoverished South Asian nation.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been hit by a series of attacks by Islamic groups in recent years -- including 400 blasts on just one day in August 2005 by the JMB.

The JMB has been virtually silent under the current government but analysts fear it has regrouped and is planning to strike ahead of the elections after the arrest of several suspected militants in recent months.