TDS Desk:

Three members of ‘Shahadat’, a new militant group which has emerged from banned Islamist outfit Ansar al-Islam, were detained in separate drives in Gulistan and Signboard area on Friday.

The arrestees are – Md Ismail Hossain, 25, recruitment head of the group, and its regional trainers Jihad Hussain alias Huzaifa, 24, and Md Aminul Islam, 25.

Commander Arafat Islam, Director of the legal and media wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), told this at a press conference at the Karwan Bazar media centre in the capital on Saturday.

He said that RAB members in separate drives detained them on Friday from the Gulistan area of the capital and Signboard areas of Narayanganj.

Arafat said the new militant group has been formed based on the ideology of banned militant outfit Ansar al-Islam as its activities have almost come to an impasse due to regular operations by the RAB and other law enforcers.

He said the arrestees are actually the members of Ansal al-slam and are operating their activities under the name of a new militant organisation ‘Shahadat’.

Commander Arafat said the number of members of this organisation is more than 100. Its other members are training in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Jashore and Sathkhira, he added.

During primary interrogation, Ismail said the organisation is being run by a person named Salahuddin, who is currently residing abroad, the RAB official said.

Ismail, a madrasa student in Narayanganj, met Salahuddin about a year ago and joined him.

Meanwhile, Jihad is a madrasa teacher while Aminul is a garment worker, RAB official said, adding that members of the organization communicated with militant leaders separately through social media and managed organisations under their guidance and were given the position of regional trainers.