Bangladesh: Neo-JMB militant killed in suicide blast August 15

Event

An Islamist militant from the Neo-Jamaat ul-Mujahideen (Neo-JMB) group was killed in a suicide blast during a counterterror raid on Tuesday, August 15, as he was reportedly planning to attack processions to Bangabundu Memorial Museum on their way to pay homage to Bangladesh's founder and first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The suspect was staying at the Olio International Hotel, located on the Panthapath road, in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar area. During the raid, the suspect set off at least two explosions, killing himself and damaging the hotel, but causing no other casualties. August 15 marks National Mourning Day in Bangladesh, when thousands of citizens march in processions in Dhaka to mark the anniversary of the death of the first president. Heightened security and transportation disruptions should be anticipated across Dhaka.

Context

The government is taking steps to address the terrorist threat, although Bangladesh's criminal justice system is still in the process of fully implementing the Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (ATA). A Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTCU) was formed as a part of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and began operations in February 2016. Additionally, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Religious Affairs and the National Committee on Militancy, Resistance, and Prevention, work with imams and religious scholars to build public awareness against terrorism and to counter violent extremism.

Several counterterrorism operations have taken place in recent months in Bogra district, where the commander of a northern Bangladesh faction of JMB was killed in early March 2017. Raids have also been conducted in the Sylhet and Chittagong districts. These raids are part of an intensified effort to limit militant activity in the country after the Dhaka café attack in 2016, which killed 22 people.

Advice

Due to the high risk of terrorism in Bangladesh, exercise vigilance when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.) and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities.