India Monitors Network of Islamic State in Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: India is keeping close tabs on the network of Islamic State not only in Sri Lanka but also in Bangladesh following the recent arrest of kingpin for IS recruits in the neighbouring country.

A Bangladeshi national Saifullah Ozaki, who recruited members for the IS in Bangladesh and encouraged them to visit Iraq and Syria, has been traced in a jail in Sulaimaniyah in Iraq following defeat of the IS in that region, persons familiar with the developments told ET. Nine Bangladeshi nationals, including Ozaki, have either surrendered or arrested after the fall of the last Syrian ISIS (Islamic State) hideout in Baghouz. Earlier, several family members of Ozaki were killed by local security forces in their operations against the IS in the Iraq-Syria region.

A significant section of the Bangladeshis who joined ISIS were recruited by Ozaki from various cadet colleges (run by military) across the neighbouring country, one of the persons quoted claimed. Ozaki extensively used Facebook to spread IS ideology and maintained an account titled ‘Ex-cadet Islamic Learning Forum’ to inspire his recruits, ET has learnt. There are 12 cadet colleges across Bangladesh.

The growing presence of IS, its sympathisers and network in the neighbourhood — Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — are being closely monitored by India, ET has learnt. Unlike Sri Lanka, security agencies in Bangladesh have been closely coordinating and working with their Indian counterparts in countering cross-border terror and extremist cells.

The Sheikh Hasina government has zero tolerance for terror and has cracked down on ISI-sponsored terror networks and maintains a constant vigil over the extremist hideouts, sources from Dhaka told ET speaking on the condition of anonymity. After the terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in downtown Dhaka in 2016, the Hasina government further strengthened its security apparatus to crack down on extremists.

In fact, the country’s foreign minister has warned that the UK’s runaway IS bride Shamima Begum of Bangladeshi origin will be hanged for supporting terrorism if she visits Bangladesh. Foreign minister Abdul Momen had recently said that the 19-year-old, girl who fled Bethnal Green area in London for Syria and is currently living in the al-Hol desert refugee camp in Syria, would be punished severely as the country has a “zero tolerance” towards terrorism.

Ozaki was born in a Hindu family of Bangladesh and later converted to Islam when he was studying abroad on a scholarship.

Source: ET

Image Courtesy: DailyExpress