Bangladesh police arrest militants who supplied arms for cafe attack

Dhaka: Bangladesh police on Thursday claimed to have arrested four persons belonging to banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who allegedly supplied arms for the Gulshan terror attack, media reports said.

Police spokesperson Masudur Rahman said the arrests were made from the capital`s Darus Salam area late on Wednesday and identified them as Abu Taher, 37, Mizanur Rahman, 34, Selim Mia, 45 and Toufiqul Islam, 32.

All of them belong to Jama`atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Rahman told bdnews24.com.

"Almost 800 detonators and a 9mm pistol have been found during the raid," he said.

During initial investigation, the suspects confessed to smuggling weapons and explosives across the border near Chapainawabganj, the senior police official said.

The suspects also confessed that JMB`s Chapainawabganj unit chief Mizanur Rahman supplied weapons and explosives to Gulshan cafe attack mastermind Tamim Chowdhury and Nurul Islam.

On July 1, 2016, five militants took hostages and opened fire on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, killing 29 persons, mostly foreigners including 19-year-old Indian Tarishi Jain.