Jamatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB)

Bangladesh

Jamatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (Party of the Mujahedin) is a terrorist organization dedicated to removing the secular government of Bangladesh and replacing it with an Islamic theocracy, modeled after the Taliban in Afghanistan. In addition to calling for an Islamic state based on Sharia law, the group has opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and warned the U.S. and the U.K. to leave all Muslim countries. The group also seeks to eliminate vestiges of society deemed to conflict with its Islamic views.

In the mid-2000s, at the height of its strength, JMB was estimated to have 10,000 core members and around 100,000 part-time supporters. Government crackdowns have weakened the organization; in early 2007, a group leader admitted that about 5,000 members were operating in Bangladesh. JMB is said to be rebuilding.

JMB has received support from sympathizers in several Islamic countries. Specifically, the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society of Kuwait and the Doulatul of Kuwait have provided assistance. Support has also come from the Doulatul of Bahrain, from Al Fuzaira of the United Arab Emirates, Khairul Ansar Al Khairia of the U.A.E. and Al Haramaine of Saudi Arabia. Bangladeshi expatriates have also donated to the group, according to a senior group member.

JMB has conducted broad-scale bombing attacks, concentrating on government offices, courts and intellectual leaders. The group has operated training camps, issued propaganda materials and infiltrated mosques and madrassas. JMB also is involved in conventional business activities such as shrimp-fishing and cold-storage operations, and is suspected of participating in money-laundering activities in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The date of the exact origin of JMB is uncertain, but it is generally accepted that the group started in the late 1990s, probably in 1998. JMB was one of several groups that arose in a widespread upsurge of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh. The group's existence became publicly known in May 2002 when Bangladesh security forces arrested eight Islamist militants who were in possession of bomb-making materials and documents related to JMB activities.

JMB has also entered into the cultural realm. The group is opposed to certain cultural functions, movies and practices requiring women to leave the home. JMB also opposes the presence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). JMB has participated in the establishment of mosques and madrassas, many of which have been used for training its cadres. Some of the mosques were built with the assistance of Kuwait's Revival of Islamic Heritage Society. One terrorist expert reported that JMB has been assisted by Al-Qaida, and the group reportedly has become a home to both Bangladeshi and foreign Islamic militants who fought Soviet Union forces in Afghanistan.

JMB benefited from a lack of oversight. The government led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) for five years, before giving way to a caretaker government in October 2006, was dependent for support on a coalition of Islamic groups that, in turn, was sympathetic to groups such as JMB. Eventually, following numerous attacks, the government banned the organization in February 2005.

Three prominent radicals are said to have formed the leadership of JMB. One is Maulana Abdur Rahman, a former activist of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party. Another is Siddiqur Islam, also known as Bangla Bhai. The third is Muhammad Asadullah al-Ghalib, an Arabic language lecturer at the RajshahiUniversity. Rahman is regarded as the inspirational leader of the organization, while Siddiqur Islam is reportedly the operational head.

JMB reportedly had a three-tier organization. The first tier consisted of full-time members called Ehsar. The second tier, known as Gayeri Ehsar, peaked at over 100,000 part-time activists. The third tier included those who indirectly cooperated with the group. JMB split the nation into nine organizational divisions.

During its strong periods, JMB's operational details were overseen by a seven-member Majlish-e-Shura. In addition to Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, the Shura consisted of Ataur Rahman Sunny (brother of Abdur Rahman), Abdul Awal (Abdur Rahman's son-in-law), Rakib Hasan Russel (aka Hafez Mohammad), Faruq Hossain (aka Khaled Saifullah) and Salahuddin (alias Salehin).

Following a spate of bomb attacks on government and court officials in 2005, Bangladesh stepped up its pursuit of JMB members. Abdur Rahman and Siddiqur Islam were arrested in March 2006 and subsequently convicted of taking part in a November 2005 bomb attack on two judges. Those two, along with four other senior JMB leaders, were executed in March 2007.

The group has been considered largely dormant since the leaders' execution. Maulana Saidur Rahman is said to have subsequently taken command, and may be trying to rebuild JMB while at large in India.

Dec. 7: Four movie theaters in Mymensingh were bombed by JMB militants. Twenty-one people were killed and over 200 injured.

During the year, security forces recovered and decoded diaries of some arrested Islamist militants. The documents revealed that JMB had training camps in 57 districts, with bases at the Ahle Hadith mosques and seminaries.

Feb. 23: The government arrested JMB leader Muhammad Asadullah al-Ghalib and charged him with sedition.

May: JMB attacked a circus show and a cinema in two separate incidents, injuring 15 people. The group had attacked other cultural events earlier in the year. 

Aug. 15: Over 30 minutes or so, more than 450 bombs exploded in every Bangladesh district except Munshiganj, killing two people, including a child, and wounding about 200 others. Targets included government and court buildings in Dhaka and the Zia International Airport. JMB left leaflets claiming responsibility at most blast sites.

Oct. 3: JMB assailants threw two bombs into a courtroom in Lakshmipur, killing one person and wounding 28 others, including a judge and police officer. At about the same time in Chandpur, JMB assailants threw two more bombs in a courtroom, killing one person and wounding five others, including a judge.

Oct. 18: A suspected JMB attacker threw a bomb into a judge's home in Sylhet, injuring him.

Nov. 14: A JMB militant in Jhalakati threw a bomb into a government vehicle carrying two judges and a civilian, killing the two judges and a passing civilian. Three others were wounded. The militant tried to detonate a bomb strapped to his leg, but it failed to go off. He was arrested.

Nov. 18: JMB Shura member Abdul Awal was arrested.

Nov. 29: In Gazipur, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a crowd at the Gazipur Bar Association building, killing six people and wounding 50 others. At about the same time in Chittagong, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a group of police officers outside a court building, killing two officers and wounding 13 more, as well as four civilians.

Dec. 7: JMB assailants set off a bomb in Netrakona, injuring a civilian and two police officers. A suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up in the midst of a gathering crowd, killing five people and wounding 43, including eight police officers. An explosive strapped to the leg of a fatally wounded JMB bomber was defused by police.

December: The government proposed new anti-terrorism measures including the imposition of tougher sentences for persons convicted of terrorist acts and larger bounties for the capture of JMB leaders.

Dec. 14: Ataur Rahman Sunny, a Shura member, was arrested in Dhaka.

Feb. 26: Rakib Hasan Russel (Hafez Mohammad), one of the members of the Shura, was arrested.

March 2: JMB leader Abdur Rahman surrendered to authorities in Sylhet after a 34-hour siege. He later confessed to participation in the fatal attack on Professor Mohammed Yunus in 2004.

March 6: JMB second-in-command Siddiqul Islam (Bangla Bhai) was wounded by authorities in Mymensingh, and found hiding in a tin shed in Rampur village.

April 26: Shura member Salahuddin (Salehin), also called the commander of the Sylhet-Mymensingh region, was arrested in Chittagong.

April 26: Faruq Hossain (Khaled Saifullah), Shura member and JMB commander of the Rangpur-Dinajpur region, was arrested in Dhaka.

May: A court gave death sentences to several leading Islamist militants, including JMB's Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, for killing two judges on Nov. 14, 2005 in Jhalakati.

September: A trial court judge signed the death warrants for seven JMB militants, including leaders Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, calling for the immediate execution of the sentences that had been confirmed by the Bangladesh High Court.

October: The BNP ended its five-year term in office. A caretaker government took over with the goal of conducting new elections. The caretaker government, which is supposed to be a neutral body composed largely of civil servants and an election commission, included former BNP-Zamat party supporters and Islamic fundamentalist sympathizers.

Dec. 29: In Tangail, two JMB assailants opened fire on a police officer and an informant who had allegedly provided information leading to the arrest of JMB leader Siddiqul Islam. Both were wounded.

March 4: President Iajuddin Ahmed rejected mercy petitions filed in January by the JMB militants convicted of the Nov. 14, 2005, bomb attack on two judges in Jhalakati.

March 30: Six senior JMB members, including leaders and Shura members Abdur Rahman, Siddiqul Islam, Abdul Awal, Ataur Rahman Sunny and Khaled Saifullah, were hanged in separate prisons across Bangladesh. Also executed was Iftekhar Hasan Mamun, a suicide bomber.

April 11: Suspected JMB assailants opened fire on a lawyer in Jhalakati, killing him. The victim was the chief prosecutor for the case involving the November 2005 murder of the two judges. He reported receiving several telephone death threats following the March 30 execution.

May 8: A letter was received by officials that theratened to blow up several government officers in Rangpur district in revenge for the execution of the group's leaders. No attack took place.

June 14: Six bombs thought to be planted by JMB militants were recovered on the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology campus.

Nov. 27: Five JMB militants, including Abdur Rahman's son Nabil Rahman, made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from a jail. They scaled over a wall, but were caught soon after. Three of the five were moved to a more secure prison.

Dec. 17: A JMB militant was killed and two security officials were injured in an hour-long standoff in Dhaka. Another militant was arrested.

Feb. 20: An arrested and handcuffed JMB militant managed to grab and detonate a grenade at a police station in Gazipur, injuring 13 people. He had been arrested with four female JMB members just hours earlier; the grenades were recovered during that raid.

March 25: A JMB explosive device was recovered in a high school in Barguna district. The device reportedly had "JMB Bomb" written on it.

May 15: A large cache of bombs and bomb-making materials were recovered by Bangladesh authorities in Dhaka. At least 1,000 bombs could have been made with the seized materials.

July: Between October 2008 and the end of July, about 80 JMB members were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities.

August: Several reports indicate that JMB is reorganizing and rebuilding itself in Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Pabna and Bogra districts, following the release of several JMB militants because of "legal loopholes."