Six members of banned outfit Ansar Al Islam arrested

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested six members of the banned militant outfit Ansar Al Islam from Ashulia, Savar, Manikganj, Gazipur and Mymensingh on Sunday.

The arrestees are Abdur Razzak, aka Saiba, 41, Shariful Islam Murad, 31, Ashikur Rahman aka Usaiman, 27, Muhammad Zakaria aka Abar, 24, Md Al Amin aka Samura, 24, and Md Abu Jab Maruf, 18, reports bdnews24.com.

Razzak, the chief coordinator of the Mymensingh region, was arrested in Narayanganj's Rupganj.

Based on this information, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), a team of RAB-1 made the arrest, said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, the director of RAB's law and media wing.

During the primary interrogation, the arrestees said they were members of the Ansar Al Islam, a banned militant outfit, and were inspired by the emergence of the Taliban and followed the philosophy of Al Qaeda, Moin said.

They were supplying different booklets on radicalism, the torture of Muslims, and videos and speeches given by the fundamentalist leaders.

The arrestees also collected money from their relatives, madrasas, and other members by providing misleading information about their organisation.

Commander Moin said they held secret meetings in mosques, houses, and other locations. They made regular contact with like-minded militants from neighbouring countries through social media and even sent some members to the neighbouring country illegally for training.

In 2015, Razzak joined the Ansar Al Islam after the top leaders of the outfit radicalised him. He lured more members to the organisation while pretending to have a different profession.

Later, he became the chief coordinator of the Ashulia, Savar, Manikganj, Gazipur, and Mymensingh divisions and headed the training department.