Most of the youths involved in militancy, are being inspired by the virtual world of internet. Top officers of Anti-Counter Terrorism Unit (ATU), the specialized unit of Bangladesh Police, made the revelation on Saturday. They came to know the information after grilling accused persons arrested in connection with militancy.
The officers were addressing a workshop titled ‘Citizens’ participation in resisting militancy and terrorism’ at BRAC University in the city. The seminar was organized by ATU in association with Community Development for Peace. Students from various universities, schools, colleges and Madrasas participated in the workshop.
Additional Deputy Inspector General of ATU Md Moniruzzaman said, “We conducted a survey among 250 persons who were arrested in connection with militancy after the terror attack on the Holey Artisan café. “ According to the survey, 56 percent of the arrested militants came from general education system. Twenty two percent from Madrasa education. And the rest 22 percent, from English medium education and uneducated backgrounds.”
This means that around 60 percent youths involved in militancy were from general and English medium education. Among them, 82 percent were involved in militancy after being inspired from internet, the anti-terrorism expert said. He said, “Currently three militant organizations—JMB, ABT and Hijb-Ut Tahrir are active. They are trying to conduct their activities in the country. “
Some of these organizations are trying to communicate with global terror organisations al-Qaeda, AQIS and Islamic State, he added. Participation of all in resisting militancy is a must, he said adding, “We want most active participation of the youth community in this regard.” A large part of militants are being inspired from the virtual world. It is impossible to resist such activities on the internet.
But our specialized teams are monitoring the virtual world twenty four hours a day, the leading anti-terrorism expert of the country said. We need mass awareness in combating militancy, he opined. Mohammad Saiful Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said, “As per information obtained in 2018, ISIS every day tweets around 70 thousand. They also post at least 90 thousand posts in different social media networking sites.”
Both local and international militant organizations target media coverage. They emphasise on media coverage more than what they can do, he continued. We suggest media to be more cautious in carrying news related to militancy, the counter terrorism officer opined.