Bangladesh blogger killings: 3 suspected militants held

Bangladesh’s elite security force has arrested three militants, including one British citizen, who is said to be the main planner of the murder of two secular bloggers

Dhaka: Three militants of an al Qaeda-linked outfit have been arrested in Bangladesh, including the mastermind of the murders of two prominent secular bloggers, Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das, in the country this year.

The militants, identified as Touhidul Islam,  Sadek Ali and Aminul Mollik, were detained on Monday night.
Pic/ PTI

The three militants of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) were detained on Monday night from Dhanmondi and Nilkhet areas.

The detainees were identified as Touhidul Islam, Sadek Ali and Aminul Mollik.

Major Maksudul Alam, deputy director for Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) legal and media wing, informed that Touhidur was British-born. It was reported that Rahman, who is also referred as the mastermind behind the killing, was also the financier of ABT.

Assailants in February had killed 45-year-old Roy, a Bangladesh-born US national, here while his wife narrowly escaped the attack.

Machete-wielding masked men in May hacked to death 33-year-old Das. Apart from Roy and Das, two other bloggers killed this year are Niloy Chakrabarty Neel and Washiqur Rahman.

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