RAB finds militants\\\' den in Ctg, nabs 5

CHITTAGONG, Feb 22: Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel have seized a good quantity of ammunition and arms in an overnight raid at a remote village of Banskhali upazila in the district.

Five people have been arrested along with the arms and ammunition, said RAB-7 commander Colonel Miftah Uddin Ahmed at a media briefing on Sunday.

He said they have unearthed a training camp of militants in the deep forest near Sadhanpur village, 2.5 km off the Chittagong-Banskhali road.

Acting on a tip-off from alleged militants arrested from a Hathazari madrasa on Thursday, the RAB-7 members raided a dairy farm in the deep forest from Saturday evening to early hours of Sunday.

They seized three light guns (LG), seven pistols, one revolver, eight big daggers, a large quantity of ammunition, and militant training dresses.

The arrested, aged between 20 and 25 years, are Mobasser Hossain, Abdul Khalek, Iminul Islam, Habibur Rahman Tahsin and Amir Hossain Ishaq.

The RAB-7 commander said the arrested were given primary arms training in the madrasa. Then they were taken to the militants' den at Banskhali, operated under the disguise of a dairy farm, for higher arms training to send later to different parts of the country.

"The trainees were selected from different districts. They were taken to the training centre through Shonkhola and Kanchanabad villages of Satkania."

One Moulvi Mobarak purchased 120 decimal of forest land from a private land owner, and conducted the arms training with the financial support of one Abdul Aziz of Chakaria upazila of Cox's Bazar. None bothered to enter into the reserve forest area, the RAB CO added.

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