Source of arms used in militant attacks found

MNA Editorial Desk: Law enforcement agencies have found the source of the arms used in the recent militant attacks in Dhaka’s Holey Artisan Bakery and Sholakia, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque said.

He told this in a program held at Police Staff College in Mirpur area in Dhaka on Monday.

He said that, “The arms used in the attacks were not very modern. We have found the source from where the attackers got them (arms). The masterminds of the attacks have been identified and they are under surveillance.”

However, law enforcement agencies were trying to combat militancy by awareness and deterrence. On July 1, Terrorists rushed into Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan and killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners. The crisis ended following an army-led joint forces’ operation – ‘Operation Thunderbolt’.

Though the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, the government upholds it was the work of home-grown terrorists.

An attack on a police check post near the Sholakia Eid ground on July 7 also left two policemen and a woman dead.

Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Md. Asaduzzaman Mia that said the masterminds of Gulshan cafe attack were recognized and their arrest was a matter of time.

“Those behind the planning of Gulshan attack have been identified and now it’s a matter of time to arrest them. We’ve information about those involved in the attack and how they carried out the attack.” said the DMP chief.

“The law enforcement agencies are conducting drives based on some specific information, and they’ll be brought to book soon as some important evidence has been seized,” he also added.

However, in 24 July Iqbal Mahmud, chairman of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said the money gained through corruption is used in militant movements.

He said financial disorder and militancy is a severe Dhaka, problem in today’s world, and added, “We cannot be safe if we cannot tackle it simultaneously.”

He said this throughout a conversation with the editors and chiefs of print and electronic media about strategy and working plan of ACC held at its office in Dhaka on Sunday.