Bangla Bhai
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Siddique ul-Islam (Bangla: সিদ্দিকুল ইসলাম), known popularly as Bangla Bhai (The Bengali Brother), also known as Aziz ur-Rahman, is a Bangladeshi Islamic terrorist[1] and the military commander of the radical pseudo-Islamist organization Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), known in popular usage as the JMJB. Most active in the north-western section of Bangladesh around the Rajshahi region, Bangla Bhai has gained a nationwide and worldwide notoriety for the nationwide bombings and other terrorist activities.
Siddique ul-Islam fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s as a Mujahedin fighter. Upon his return to Bangladesh, he taught Bengali language for some time. Formerly a member of the Islaami Chattra Shibir, student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Islam joined the ranks of the JMJB and became the commander of military affairs and an acting member of the Majlis-e-Sura, its decision-making committee. Bangla bhai became infamous for the torture and intimidation of the opponents of JMJB and the minorities. On August 17, 2005, JMJB, under Islam's leadership, launched a nation-wide attack by exploding 500 makeshift bombs. Along with Shaykh Abdur Rahman, Islam is alleged to have masterminded the bombing. In late 2005, a series of suicide bomb attacks rocked Bangladesh. JMJB and Jamaat-al-Mujahedin Bangladesh have claimed responsibility of these attacks.
The Government of Bangladesh proclaimed a large prize for the capture of Bangla bhai. On 6 March 2006, Bangla bhai was captured by police and Rapid Action Battalion in Mymensingh District [2] and was sentenced to death on 29 May.
[edit] References
- ^ Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) - SATP Article
- ^ Top Bangladesh militant captured: police, Reuters news report, 6 March, 2006.
