The anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three members of Ansar al-Islam’s newly formed group “Shahadat" from the signboard area of Narayanganj and Gulistan of the capital on Friday.
The members of the banned militant organization were reportedly recruiting members and conducting their invitational activities.
The arrestees were identified as Mohammad Ismail Hossain, 25, the head of the recruiting wing of Ansar al-Islam, and two regional trainers Jihad Hossain alias Huzaifa, 24, and Aminul Islam, 25.
Commander Arafat Islam, director of the law and media wing, informed this at a press conference in Kawran Bazar RAB Media Centre in the capital on Saturday.
Referring to the primary interrogation of the arrestees, he said: "The number of members in that new group is more than a hundred. Ismail Shahadat, head of Ansar al-Islam's recruiting wing, was also operating as head of the group."
Commander Arafat Islam said this group is being managed by one person named Salahuddin Naser. He is currently staying abroad. Other members of the group are staying in different areas of the country including Dhaka.
They used to select different parts of the country especially Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Jessore, Satkhira and surrounding areas of Dhaka for training. Most of the members of this organization are students and teachers of madrasa, he added.
The RAB official added that Ismail was studying Dawra-e-Hadith in a madrasa in Narayanganj. A year ago, he met Salahuddin through social media.
Based on that, he was inspired by extremism and joined Ansar al-Islam and carried out recruiting activities. At one point, he was assigned as the head of the organization's recruiting wing, he added.
Another arrestee Jihad is a madrasa teacher. He also joined Ansar al-Islam about a year ago after meeting Salauddin through social media.
Commander Arafat Islam said: “Salahuddin was running the process of recruiting workers in different areas of the organization including Dhaka. We will further investigate and take legal action.”
