More than 3,000 people, including 37 militants, have been arrested across Bangladesh in a sweeping crackdown on Islamists to halt a wave of fatal attacks on minorities and secular writers, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today vowed to catch “each and every killer”.
The militants arrested were operatives of the outlawed Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the outfit believed to have carried out most of the attacks on secular and liberal activists and minorities, including Hindus and Christians.
“Out of the 37 militants, 27 belong to JMB,” Deputy Inspector General AKM Shahidur Rahman told reporters while reports said more than 3,000 suspects - mostly listed as thugs and criminals were arrested over the past two days.
Bangladesh launched the drive after a high-level meeting held by Inspector General AKM Shahidul Hoque on Thursday. The anti-militant drive involved the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.
Bangladesh has been witnessing a string of brutal attacks by Islamists.
The ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Peninsula have claimed some of the attacks but government denies the presence of these groups in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami league party that police would stamp out the violence.