UNB, Dhaka :
Terrorist organisations used social media to spread their radical ideologies and solicit followers from Bangladesh, which experienced a significant increase in terrorist activity in 2016, says a new global report on Wednesday.
“The government of Bangladesh has articulated a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, made numerous arrests of terrorist suspects, and continued its counterterrorism cooperation with the international community,” the report in its Bangladesh section mentions.
Earlier, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told UNB that the government does not want to be complacent about its achievements despite its success in preventing homegrown militants from carrying out attacks similar to the one on Holey Artisan Bakery over the past one year.
Confidence of foreigners and diplomats have boosted after Bangladesh fought back “strongly” against the “homegrown militants” since the attack on July 1 last year, he also said.
The US State Department released its annual report, Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, which provided the Department of State’s annual Congressionally-mandated assessment of trends and events in international terrorism that transpired from January 1 to December 31, 2016.
The report provided policy-related assessments, country-by-country breakdowns of foreign government counterterrorism cooperation; and contains information on state sponsors of terrorism, terrorist safe havens, foreign terrorist organisations, and the global challenge of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism.
Bangladesh, according to the report, does not have an interactive advanced passenger information system.
The State Department is working with Bangladesh to assist in developing a screening infrastructure to better secure its borders, it said.
The report, a copy of which UNB obtained, claimed the government of Bangladesh often attributed extremist violence to the “political opposition and local militants.”
Bangladesh was featured in multiple publications, videos, and websites associated with the international terrorist groups, it said.
The US report says the ISIS claimed responsibility for 18 attacks in Bangladesh in 2016, the most significant being the attack on July 1 on the Holey Artisan Bakery, an upscale restaurant in the diplomatic enclave frequented by the expatriate community.
However, the government says these are “homegrown” terrorists and five Bangladeshi attackers killed 20 hostages and two police officers using guns, explosives, and sharp weapons.
The hostages were mostly foreigners, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one US citizen, one Indian, and two Bangladeshis.
The US report says Bangladesh’s criminal justice system is in the process of fully implementing the Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (ATA) as amended in 2012 and 2013.
Terrorist organisations used social media to spread their radical ideologies and solicit followers from Bangladesh, which experienced a significant increase in terrorist activity in 2016, says a new global report on Wednesday.
“The government of Bangladesh has articulated a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, made numerous arrests of terrorist suspects, and continued its counterterrorism cooperation with the international community,” the report in its Bangladesh section mentions.
Earlier, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told UNB that the government does not want to be complacent about its achievements despite its success in preventing homegrown militants from carrying out attacks similar to the one on Holey Artisan Bakery over the past one year.
Confidence of foreigners and diplomats have boosted after Bangladesh fought back “strongly” against the “homegrown militants” since the attack on July 1 last year, he also said.
The US State Department released its annual report, Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, which provided the Department of State’s annual Congressionally-mandated assessment of trends and events in international terrorism that transpired from January 1 to December 31, 2016.
The report provided policy-related assessments, country-by-country breakdowns of foreign government counterterrorism cooperation; and contains information on state sponsors of terrorism, terrorist safe havens, foreign terrorist organisations, and the global challenge of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism.
Bangladesh, according to the report, does not have an interactive advanced passenger information system.
The State Department is working with Bangladesh to assist in developing a screening infrastructure to better secure its borders, it said.
The report, a copy of which UNB obtained, claimed the government of Bangladesh often attributed extremist violence to the “political opposition and local militants.”
Bangladesh was featured in multiple publications, videos, and websites associated with the international terrorist groups, it said.
The US report says the ISIS claimed responsibility for 18 attacks in Bangladesh in 2016, the most significant being the attack on July 1 on the Holey Artisan Bakery, an upscale restaurant in the diplomatic enclave frequented by the expatriate community.
However, the government says these are “homegrown” terrorists and five Bangladeshi attackers killed 20 hostages and two police officers using guns, explosives, and sharp weapons.
The hostages were mostly foreigners, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one US citizen, one Indian, and two Bangladeshis.
The US report says Bangladesh’s criminal justice system is in the process of fully implementing the Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (ATA) as amended in 2012 and 2013.
