Three members of the banned militant organization Ansar al-Islam have been arrested by RAB in Cox’s Bazar. They were detained on Thursday night (June 27) from the Chowfaldandi area in Cox’s Bazar Sadar. The arrested individuals are Zakaria Mondal (27), Niamat Ali (25), and Hozayeb (19). Zakaria Mondal is a resident of Jamalpur, while Niamat Ali and Hozayeb are residents of Feni and students of Patiya Madrasa in Chittagong.

On Friday (June 28) at around 12 noon, Commander Arafat Islam, the director of RAB’s Law and Media Branch, confirmed the matter during a press briefing at the RAB-15 office. He stated that Ansar al-Islam has created a new militant organization under the ideology of Shahadat and has started recruiting new members. The new organization has more than a hundred members. The detained individuals came to Cox’s Bazar to meet a specific person.

Arafat Islam explained that due to intense operations by law enforcement agencies, Ansar al-Islam’s activities had dwindled, leading to the formation of the Shahadat group to continue recruitment and propagation activities. Through continuous intelligence surveillance and information technology, it was discovered that the Shahadat group is operated by an expatriate named Salahuddin, who is currently abroad. Other members of this group are located in various parts of the country, including Dhaka.

RAB reported that during initial interrogation, the arrested individuals admitted to being active members of the banned organization Ansar al-Islam. Various extremist books, leaflets, bags, and mobile phones belonging to the organization were recovered from them. Legal action is being taken against them.