Police also claimed to have recovered several suicide vests from the hideout unveiling the danger that militancy is on spread in the country again including growing involvement of women this time. The Ashkona blast inside RAB barrack killed the bomber by his hand-triggered bomb; RAB personnel said happened as he had trespassed the wall and came under attack of the force on the spot.
The growing presence of militant activities and bizarre police action is frightening the people again with new uncertainty as they are trying to forget the shock and fall out from attack on the Hole Artisan Restaurant that killed 29 people at Gulshan last year. People are also facing extra-terrorism this way by police action in full fighting gear.
We have also seen last year police raid at a militant den in Kallyanpur in the city. Moreover police and RAB also claimed to have killed several masterminds behind the rising militancy in the country including the leaders of the Gulshan attack.
But why the danger is not subsiding and rather on the rise again is the big question.
The government has issued red alert at all airports and jails alongwith sensitive public installations. Such steps are also adding to terrorizing the nation.
Unidentified people, presumed to be militant seriously injured a guard of a Catholic Church in Pabna only last week. What is a big worry is the involvement of woman in militancy. Apart from one being killed in the Sitakunda raid on Wednesday, another woman militant was killed in a police raid in a flat at Azimpur only few months back. She died with a baby while the male member of the group were able to flee. Swoops on militants den are very often reported in the media with big success and yet how it is growing and spreading instead of coming to an end is the big question.
We saw a bizarre debate in the wake of the rise in militancy in the country whether or not we have presence of IS operatives here. A recent SITE Intelligence Group video post showed a Bangladeshi IS militant, who is highly educated and came from Chittagong, has died in Iraq while carrying out a suicide attack. It invariably confirm involvement of some people from Bangladesh in IS fights as they have been radicalized in the name of Islam. We are not sure whether they have contact with local militants in Bangladesh while the government is claiming that IS presence is not verified here.
Without going to this debate what we want to make the point here is that as the IS outfits are losing battles this time in Iraq and Syria and fleeing and there is a growing risk of the spread of their danger all over including Bangladesh.
It is quite clear that police are failing to contain militants in Bangladesh despite all out efforts and there is a growing fear is that the situation may slowly become desperate as the fresh militant activities are showing up. Desperate anger of people in many fronts may also add to make the situation more desperate.
We must say police power is not enough to successfully fight terrorism; they have failed to make clear that alternative strategy must be at work to eliminate the danger. In that case we have always opposed the killing of the militants in questionable circumstances, and suggested that they be held alive and allowed the opportunity to speak out why they are engaging in destructive activities.
Police and the government need people’s cooperation to fight militancy, it can’t be won with police power only. Some militants may be killed but new ones will come up to replace their place. In our view it is a political issue that needs to be sorted by all party leadership politically. Many believe that the government may be using militancy to achieve political gains and therefore it is not making the fight transparent. Police are also killing the militants to keep their stories unheard.
