DHAKA, 27 April 2006 — Bangladesh security forces captured two remaining fugitive leaders of the outlawed Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB), Salauddin and Khaled Saifullah, during an overnight operation by the Rapid Action Battalion, paramilitary sources said yesterday. The militant leaders were wanted for a series of deadly blasts.
Salauddin was captured at a hide-out in Chittagong city late on Tuesday while Saifullah was later arrested after an all-night siege at a house in Dhaka, paramilitary spokesman Mashuk Hasan said.
“With the capture of the two leaders, we have now arrested all seven members of the JMB’s top decision-making body, the Majlis-e-Shoura, or ruling council,” the Rapid Action Battalion commander said.
The elite battalion is at the forefront of the country’s battle against militants and conducted a series of raids in the past weeks in their hunt for Salauddin and Saifullah.
Hasan said the two were leading the remnants of the group and were preparing for an attack on key government targets.
“It’s a big sigh of relief for us. All seven leaders of the JMB are now under our custody and the group’s backbone is now completely broken,” he said.
