Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque in an exclusive interview recently said they will intensify nationwide crackdown against militants this year in line with the 'zero tolerance' policy against militancy, reports BSS.
"Police have achieved significant success in combating militancy with killing of 58 militants and capturing over 50 others while conducting operations at 26 militant hideouts across the country till January this year after the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1, 2016," he said.
During the latest drive in the militant hideout at Nakhalpara under Tejgaon Police Station early Friday three operatives of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahide'en Bangladesh (JMB) were killed.
Thirteen more militants were killed in a series of anti-militant drives before the Holey Artisan attack when over 200 others were arrested. As many as 11 law enforcers were killed during the anti-militant drives.
The police chief claimed that extensive crackdown on the militants after the attack on the Gulshan restaurant have broken down backbones of the armed activists.
"Militants have lost their organisational capacity to carry out attacks on a large scale when security officials are detecting their locations and movements with intensified intelligence vigilance," he also said.
"The activities of the militants have been brought almost under control as police have successfully stopped regrouping of the neo- JMB with killing and capturing its top leaders," he added.
On the other hand, over 60 JMB operatives were sentenced to death, over 150 to life term imprisonment and around 250 others to different jail terms in cases for various attacks. Besides, law enforcers arrested 1,792 JMB men in different cases while 2,043 were charge-sheeted in different cases.
The JMB suffered a huge setback with execution of death sentences of it top leaders including Maulana Shaikh Abdur Rahman, his second-in-command Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai, military commander Ataur Rahman Sunny, think-tank Abdul Awal, Majlish-e-Sura members Khaled Saifullah and Salahuddin.
