Bangladesh police kill ‘mastermind’ of Dhaka cafe attack
Bangladesh security forces killed three Islamist militants on Saturday (August 27) including a Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen alleged to have masterminded an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last month in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed, police said.
The militants were cornered in a hideout on the outskirts of the capital and, having refused to surrender, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, Monirul Islam, the head of the Dhaka police counter terrorism unit, told Reuters.
He initially said four militants had been killed but later revised the number to three.
The success notched up by the security forces came ahead of a visit on Monday (August 29) by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is expected to discuss security in the wake of a series of killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault on the cafe in a posh neighbourhood of the capital, during which militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian.
The government has steadfastly denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation, like al Qaeda or Islamic State.
But police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack.
The suspected mastermind killed in Saturday’s raid was identified as Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a 30-year-old Canadian citizen born in Bangladesh. Analysts say Islamic State in April identified Chowdhury as its national commander.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that Chowdhury was one of the main suppliers of funds and arms for several recent attacks. He had returned to Bangladesh in October, 2013 via Abu Dhabi, A K M Shahidul Hoque, the inspector general of police, said.
The raid followed a tip off from the landlord of the house where the militants were staying, Hoque told reporters. The landlord said the militants had described themselves as businessmen in the medical trade.
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