Radical Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team has been banned in Bangladesh.
Home Ministry issued a gazette in this regard on Monday.
Administrative officer of the ministry Abul Kashem confirmed about the gazette notification on banning the outfit to the Dhaka Tribune.
According to TRAC – Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium – Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) is an al Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group in Bangladesh that started its activities during 2007 as the Jama’atul Muslemin, funded by different NGOs. The group ceased to operate when funding ended. It resurfaced during 2013 as the ABT.
The group is influenced by renowned extremist ideologues, such as Anwar Al-Awlaki.
ABT objectives include the radicalisation of youths in Bangladesh, inciting active participation in a local jihad and seeking control of areas in Bangladesh.
The group reflects a young generation of jihadists in Bangladesh, which use cyberspace extensively in propagating jihadist ideology and training manuals to guide terror attacks. ABT also uses mosques in propagating its ideological objectives.
On August 12, 2013 Bangladeshi authorities arrested the leader of the ABT, Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, with 30 members from Barguna (a southwestern district in Bangladesh) for inciting a jihad at mosques.
The Islamic extremist organisation in Bangladesh is implicated in the brutal attacks on bloggers from 2013 to 2015.
Five members of the group confessed to the murder of Ahmed Rajib Haider on February 15, 2013. Another four have been arrested for the attack on blogger Asif Mohiuddin.
They also claimed responsibility for the murder of three bloggers – Avijit Roy, Oyashiqur Rahman Babu, and Ananta Bijoy Das – and the murder of Rajshahi University sociology professor AKM Shafiul Islam.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
