Chittagong Bureau :
A militant camp run by religious extremists in remote hill areas of Banskhali upazila in Chittagong district was unearthed by the Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] on Sunday.
A huge quantity of arms, ammunition and other materials were recovered from the spot and RAB arrested five suspected militants in this connection.
The hilly camp was meant for giving training to the militants on using sophisticated arms and ammunitions. Besides, there is a ‘firing range’ for shooting practice for the trainees. The militants were also given guerrilla training on operating arms and even hijacking planes, RAB claimed.
ASP Sohel Mahmud, Assistant Director of RAB -7 said, “Acting on a tip-off, a team of RAB of Chittagong zone launched a drive in Lotmoni Hill under Banskhali upzila from Saturday afternoon to 6:00am on Sunday and busted the training camp.”
The RAB also seized three AK-22 rifles, six revolvers, seven pistols and three LGs in the camp. Besides, several other revolver cartridges, rifle bullets, lethal weapons, high explosives, huge camouflage uniforms.
The training materials were hidden under the ground and following the confessions of the detained persons, the arms and ammos were recovered, the RAB official said.
The law enforcing agencies were conducting massive search around the hill to find out more arms, ammunitions and other materials till yesterday evening.
The camp was set up under the cover of a livestock and poultry farm on the Lotmoni Hill at Sadhanpur Union, according to former Union Parishad Chairman Samiruddin.
RAB sources said the detained militants were given preliminary training in Hathazari remote areas and then sent to Banskhli for final training for another two months.
These successful trainees from Banskhali militant camps might be sent to different areas across the country for conducting subversive activities, RAB sources said.
RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud said they had learnt of the camp’s existence by interrogating 12 suspected militants, who were arrested from from a Hathazari madrasha on Feb 19 last.
Mahmud said militias were regularly trained in a big hilly area behind the farm. “Boys from poor families were brought there and taught Arabic and Islamic subjects. They were also shown videos of attacks on Muslims in different countries to motivate them to become militants to fight for the ‘freedom of Islam.”
“They were also shown videos of speeches by terrorist leaders like Osama bin-Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and successful terrorist operations,” he said. They were given guerrilla training to operate arms and even hijack planes; he added. Locals said they often heard sounds of firing at night.
Those arrested, all aged 20-22, were identified as Aminul Islam, Abdul Khaleque, Habibur Rahman, Amir Hossain and Mobashwer Hossain.The camp is situated about four kilometres off the Sadhanpur main road.
Mentionable, at least 25 persons were detained on February 19 last from a madrasha of Hathazari area and of them 12 are suspected to involved with the militant activities, RAB sources said.
As per their confessions to law enforcers , the militant camp was unearthed in Sadhan puur, Banskhali where detained 5 militants along with huge arms, ammos and explosives.
According to former UP chairman, one Maulana Mobarak came from Sanua of Banshkhali after the devastating cyclone of 1991 and settled there. He bought the land and set up a livestock and poultry farm with the support of Maulana Aziz.
Mentionable that Moulvi Md. Mobarak purchased about 120 decimal land inside the reserve forest of Sadhanpur from a private possession owner and later turned it into a livestock farm with the financial assistance of one Abdul Aziz , former UP chairman Samiruddin sources said.
After inclusion of the land as private property, the movement of common people was prohibited in the selected parts of reserved forest from 2010, sources said.
