Responses to Information Requests

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

Sources indicate that the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh [1] (JMB) is an "Islamist" (CNN 23 Feb. 2016; BBC 27 Aug. 2016), "jihadist" (CNN 3 July 2016), or "militant Islamic" group in Bangladesh (PHW 2015, 121). Sources indicate that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen means "Assembly of Jihadists" (Power Politics 1 Oct. 2016) or "Party of the Mujahideen" (SATP n.d.a). Sources indicate that the group's objective is to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh through the use of violence (Roul Nov. 2011, 16; SATP n.d.a) and it is "opposed to the establishment of democracy" (ibid.).

Sources describe the JMB as the most significant or prominent local jihadist group in Bangladesh (Jamestown Foundation 6 Feb. 2015, 3; CNN 3 July 2016). Sources indicate that the group was founded in 1998 (SATP n.d.a; Roul Nov. 2011, 16); or "first surfaced in 2004" (BDNews24 17 Aug. 2016). Sources indicated that the JMB is banned in Bangladesh (ibid.; CNN 23 Feb. 2016). The South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a New Delhi-based online database related to terrorism and "low intensity warfare" in South Asia (SATP n.d.b) notes that the JMB was "proscribed by the [Bangladeshi] Government" on 23 February 2005 (ibid. n.d.a). The JMB was listed on the UK Home Office's 15 July 2016 list of proscribed terrorist organizations, and indicates that the JMB was "proscribed" to the list in July 2007 (UK 15 July 2016, 13).

1.1 Links with Extremist Groups Outside Bangladesh

According to sources, the JMB pledges allegiance to ISIS [Islamic State; Daesh; ISIL] (CNN 3 July 2016; Pakistan Today 12 Aug. 2016; Reuters 29 Aug. 2016) or is affiliated with ISIS (The Washington Post 28 Aug. 2016). The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based policy institute focused on providing information about "societies which are strategically or tactically important to the United States and which frequently restrict access to such information" (Jamestown Foundation n.d.a), states that ISIS media releases have expressed support for the JMB (ibid. 24 June 2016, 4).

Sources report that the JMB has links with Pakistan-based militant groups like HuJi [Harkat-ul Jihad-al Islami] and LeT [Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-e-Toiba] (The Diplomat 7 July 2016; Power Politics 1 Oct. 2016), and the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan (ibid.). An article in Power Politics, an India-based news magazine (ibid. n.d.), indicates that the JMB is also active in Indian states of West Bengal and Assam where it is associated with the "Indian Mujahideen, Al Jihad, Al Ummah and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)" (ibid. 1 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.2 Bombings and Attacks in 2005

Sources indicate that the JMB was responsible for the coordinated explosion of approximately 460 bombs on 17 August 2005 (PHW 2015, 121; Roul Nov. 2011, 16). Sources state that the bombs detonated in 63 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh within 30 minutes of each other (ibid.; Power Politics 1 Oct. 2016). In an article in CTC Sentinel, the journal of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point Academy in the US, Animesh Roul [2] indicates that the 2005 bombings killed two people and injured nearly one hundred more (Roul Nov. 2011, 16). Sources further indicate that the JMB was also implicated in two courthouse bombings that killed two judges in 2005 (PHW 2015 121; SATP n.d.a). Roul states that later in 2005, the "JMB targeted the country's judiciary - court buildings, judges and government officials - with suicide attacks in an effort to intimidate authorities into releasing around 400 JMB suspects arrested after the August countrywide blasts" (Nov 2011, 16). The Political Handbook of the World 2015 (PHW) reports that Bangladeshi authorities captured JMB leaders Maulana Abdur Rahman and operations chief of the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) [3], Siddiqul Islam (also known as Bangla Bhai), and sentenced them to death; they were executed in 2007 along with four other JMB members (PHW 2015, 121). Roul further indicates that after the 2005 bombings, authorities also "apprehended more than 700 suspected members of JMB and [JMJB]," and that in March 2007, "the Bangladeshi government executed a number of JMB's leaders including its chief, Shaikh Abdur Rahman" (Nov. 2011, 16).

1.3 Factions and Links to Domestic Groups

An article in Power Politics indicates that "many" members of the JMB are also members of Islami Chhatra Chibir, which is the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a Bangladeshi political party (1 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. For further information on Jamaat-e-Islami, see Responses to Information Requests BGD105262 of August 2015 and BGD104759 of January 2014.

Sources state that the JMJB is an "off-shoot" of the JMB "militant outfit" (The Independent 6 June 2016), or a "closely linked" organization to the JMB (PHW 2015, 121). Similarly, Roul describes the JMJB as an "affiliate party" of the JMB (Nov. 2011, 16).

BDNews24, a Bangladeshi online newspaper, states that after 2013, a faction of the JMB "regrouped and gained strength by joining … with other groups like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT)" [4] and changed its tactics to "select assassinations," with targets such as "secular bloggers and writers, publishers, priests of minority communities," and foreigners (BDNews24 17 Aug, 2016). The same source cites "intelligence officials" as stating that this faction resurfaced as "Neo-JMB" [New JMB] (ibid.). According to India-based newspaper Kashmir Images, Neo-JMB is "ideologically linked to ISIS" (9 Oct. 2016). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Membership

The undated SATP profile of the JMB which was compiled from news reports, states that the JMB "is known to maintain about 10,000 full time and 100,000 part-time cadres" (SATP n.d.a). The same source further states that "reports also suggest that there are approximately [one million] trainees" [5] (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Dhaka Tribune states in a May 2016 article that, according to the police, there is a 15-member JMB sleeper cell working as a "killing squad" across North Bengal (9 May 2016). A June 2016 article in The New York Times cites Monirul Islam, the Chief of the Bangladeshi police counterterrorism unit, as stating that the JMB "has trained 50 to 100 madrassa [madrasa] [6] students as killers … organizing them into cells of four or five" (8 June 2016). Agencia EFE, a Spanish news agency, cites the Chief of the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh as stating that, according to their investigations, the "New JMB" faction of the JMB had nearly 300 members operating in July 2015, and that due to police actions, as of the 21 October 2016 article, the group had 21 members left (Agencia EFE 21 October 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Diplomat magazine, a digital international affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region (The Diplomat n.d.), notes in a July 2016 article that, "despite a series of arrests of JMB operatives in recent years, intelligence agencies in Bangladesh warned earlier [in 2016] that JMB was reconstituting itself" (ibid. 7 July 2016). Bangladesh intelligence agencies told the Dhaka Tribune that it is aware that the JMB was resurging, with sleeper cells formed with "'highly educated members and technology experts'" (9 May 2016). BDNews24 similarly reports that while the JMB was associated with "madrasa educated boys mostly from rural areas," the Neo JMB faction recruits come from "the upper middle class or rich families exposed to English-medium education and modern technology" (17 Aug. 2016). Further and corroborating information on the size of the JMB could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Activities

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2016 Annual Report for Bangladesh states that authorities had attributed incidents to the JMB, or the JMB had claimed responsibility for incidents, in which "minority leaders and laity from Christian, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist communities were killed, injured, or threatened and some houses of worship were attacked" (US 2 May 2016). Similarly, The Diplomat magazine indicates that

[s]ince the early 2000s, JMB has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings in Bangladesh … and has carried out targeted assassinations of members of the country's Hindu minority, Shia community, academicians, public intellectuals and secular forces. (7 July 2016)

A CNN article similarly states that JMB's activities have focused on attacking religious minorities, such as "Hindu clerics and non-majority Muslims from Shiite, Ahmadiyya [Ahmadi] and Sufi communities" (CNN 3 July 2016). In a February 2016 article, CNN further cites Monirul Islam, the Joint Commissioner of the Bangladesh Police, as stating that the JMB was "responsible for most of the attacks on Shiite mosques, Hindu temples, churches and religious leaders … since October [2015]" (ibid 23 Feb. 2016). The New York Times cites Monirul Islam, the Chief of the Bangladeshi police counterterrorism unit, as stating that the JMB was involved in a number of killings of targeted individuals, such as a homeopathic doctor, an English Professor at Rajashi University who was "not known to have written critically of Islam," and an elderly Japanese man who had converted to Islam (8 June 2016). According to a May 2016 article by the Dhaka Tribune, the JMB has carried out 14 attacks since October of 2015 (9 May 2016).

3.1 Incidents

Sources indicate that the Bangladeshi Government attributed a 1 July 2016 attack on a cafe in Dhaka, named Holey Artisan Bakery Café, to the JMB (Al Jazeera 27 Aug. 2016; BBC 27 Aug. 2016). The action was described by the BBC as the worst attack in the country's history (ibid.). However, sources also report that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack (Al Jazeera 27 Aug. 2016; BBC 27 Aug. 2016; The Telegraph 27 Aug. 2016). Sources report that Bangladeshi authorities denied this claim (BBC 27 Aug. 2016; The Telegraph 27 Aug. 2016). Reuters reports that the police believe that the "New JMB" was involved in organizing the attack (Reuters 21 Oct. 2016). According to sources, 22 people were killed in this attack, including 2 police officers (BBC 27 Aug. 2016; The Telegraph 27 Aug. 2016; Al Jazeera 27 Aug. 2016); 18 of those killed were foreigners (The Telegraph 27 Aug. 2016; Al Jazeera 27 Aug. 2016). Sources indicate that Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-born Canadian and suspected mastermind behind the attack, was killed by Bangladeshi security forces in August 2016 (BBC 27 Aug. 2016; The Telegraph 27 Aug. 2016; Al Jazeera 27 Aug. 2016). Al Jazeera reports that Chowdhury was killed when police raided a house and a one hour fight ensued; police stated that the suspects threw grenades and fired assault rifles (ibid.).

The US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) maintains the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), an open-source database of over 150,000 entries on terrorist events throughout the world from 1970 to 2015 (START n.d.a), and lists 16 incidents in 2015 in which the JMB were either responsible for or suspected of perpetrating (ibid. n.d.b). The incident descriptions and details related to the JMB's 2015 attacks as provided in the GTD database, are attached to this Response. Sources further report that the JMB has claimed responsibility for, or is believed to be involved in, the following attacks:

• An October 2015 grenade attack on a Shia shrine in Dhaka which killed a person and injured 80 is suspected by the government to have been organized by the military wing of the JMB, although ISIS claimed responsibility (BBC 26 Nov. 2015).
• The October 2015 murder of a Japanese citizen was alleged to have been committed by JMB members, who were arrested in connection to the killing (Dhaka Tribune 9 May 2016; UNB 10 July 2016), 8 of whom were later charged in July 2016 (ibid.).
• An assault on an Italian Catholic priest in the Dinajpur district in late 2015 (BBC 21 Feb. 2016).
• An attack in Panchargh, northern Bangladesh, whereby two JMB attackers threw grenades and shot at the a Hindu temple, injuring a Hindu worshipper; they also cut the Hindu priest's throat, killing him (CNN 23 Feb. 2016);
• The killing of a homeopathic doctor and wounding of a teacher of the Islamic University in the Bottoil area of Sadar Upazila on 20 May 2016 in what police called a JMB plan to kill "'secular people'" (Daily Star 1 Nov, 2016).
• The June 2016 killing of the wife of a police officer who had been involved in investigating the JMB in Chittagong (AFP 5 June 2016; The Independent 6 June 2016) and who had led high profile operations against the group (AFP 5 June 2016). The Independent reports that the officer had received death threats from the JMB and that higher authorities had warned the officer about a possible attack on him (The Independent 6 June 2016).

4. Areas of Operation

In February 2016, CNN cites Monirul Islam, the Joint Commissioner of the Bangladesh Police, as stating that the JMB has been responsible for attacks "across Bangladesh" since October 2015 (23 Feb. 2016). In June 2016, The New York Times cites the Chief of the police counterterrorism unit, Monirul Islam, as stating that the reorganized JMB is active "almost exclusively in northern Bangladesh" (8 June 2016). Similarly, the Dhaka Tribune cites intelligence agencies as stating in 2016, the JMB had been reconstituting itself earlier in the year, particularly in the north of the country (9 May 2016). According to Roul in a Jamestown Foundation article, "hotspots of Islamic militancy" where "search and sweep operations" have occurred since June 2016, include Dhaka, Chittagong, Bogra, Khulna, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Kushtia, Gaibandha, and Rajshahi (24 June 2016, 3).

Sources report police actions against JMB members, including in the following areas of Bangladesh:

• the Western Rashahi District in June 2016, where the police shot a member of the JMB suspected of being involved in a bombing of an Ahmadiya mosque (BBC 7 June 2016);
• the Mirpur zone in Dhaka, where in September 2016 the police shot a "military commander" of the Neo JMB thought to have been involved in training the Dhaka café attackers (The Daily Star 3 Sept. 2016);
• the Shirajganj district where three JMB members were arrested on 4 October 2016 and cases were filed against them for "conducting terrorist activities" (Prothom Alo 5 Oct. 2016);
• the Shibpur area in Puthia Upazila of Rajshahi in October 2016, where one JMB member, who was accused in a 2005 JMB bombing, was arrested and bombs and jihadi books were recovered from the scene (The Financial Express 7 Oct. 2016);
• the outskirts of Dhaka, where twelve New JMB members were killed in a shoot-out with the police on 8 October 2016 (Reuters 9 Oct. 2016);
• the Gazipur and Tangail districts in suburban Dhaka, where four JMB members were killed by the police in October 2016 in separate raids (Reuters 8 Oct. 2016; Kashmir Images 9 Oct. 2016);
• the Khalishkhali village in Kachua upazila of the Bagerhat district, where four suspected JMB members were arrested on 25 October 2016 after a gunfight with the police (The Financial Express 25 Oct. 2016); and
• the Kushtia district, where a suspected JMB regional leader was killed on 31 October 2016 during a gunfight with the police (Dhaka Tribune 31 Oct. 2016; The Daily Star 1 Nov. 2016).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] JMB is also known as Jama'at ul Mujahideen, Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, Jamaat Ul Mujahideen, Jamaatul Mujahedin, Jaamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jamaat-ul-Mujahidin Bangladesh, Jama'at ul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, and Jamayetul Mujahidin.

[2] According to a description on the Jamestown Foundation website, Animesh Roul is "the executive director of the New Delhi-based policy research group Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict [and] specializes in counterterrorism, radical Islam, terror financing, and armed conflict and violence in South Asia" (Jamestown Foundation n.d.b).

[3] According to Power Politics, JMJB means "Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh," and is an organization that is active in northwestern Bangladesh, which is responsible for "a series of suicide bombings in Bangladesh" (1 Oct. 2016).

[4] According to The New York Times, Ansar al-Islam, which resurfaced and is known as ABT, is a "radical Islamist group" involved in the "fight against secularism," and has been involved in attacks, including the targeting and killing of bloggers involved with the Shahbag protest (8 June 2016). For information on the Shahbag social movement, see Response to Information Request BGD104759 of January 2014.

[5] SATP states there are reportedly about "10 lakh trainees" (SATP n.d.a). According to the Oxford Dictionary, a "lakh" is defined as "a hundred thousand" (Oxford Dictionaries n.d.a).

[6] SATP indicates that a madrasa is a seminary (SATP n.d.a). According to the Oxford Dictionary, a madrasa is "a school for Islamic instruction" (Oxford Dictionary n.d.b).

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 5 June 2016. "Suspected Militants Kill Bangladesh Police Officer's Wife." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

Agencia EFE. 21 October 2016. "Bangladesh Confirms Extremist Group Chief Killed in Police Raid." (Factiva)

Al Jazeera. 27 August 2016. "Bangladesh Police 'Kill Main Dhaka Cafe Attack Suspect'." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

BDNews24. 17 August 2016. Suliman Niloy. "How JMB Evolved to 'Neo JMB'." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 27 August 2016. "Bangladesh 'Café Attack Planner Killed' in Police Raid." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 7 June 2016. "Bangladesh Hindu Priest Murdered by Militants." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 21 February 2016. "Bangladesh Hindu Priest Beheaded 'By Islamic State'." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 26 November 2015. "Bangladesh Shia Mosque Attacked by Gunmen." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

Cable News Network (CNN). Tiffany Ap. 3 July 2016. "Who Are the Terror Groups Jostling for Influence in Bangladesh?" [Accessed 11 Nov. 2016]

Cable News Network (CNN). 23 February 2016. Sugam Pokharel and Tim Hume. "Arrests Made Following Killing of Bangladeshi Priest." [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016]

The Daily Star. 1 November 2016. "JMB Leader Involved in Doctor Killing Say Police After the Militant Killed in Kushtia 'Shootout'." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

The Daily Star. 3 September 2016. "Bangladesh Militant Commander Linked to Cafe Attack Killed." (BBC Monitoring South Asia/Factiva)

The Dhaka Tribune. 31 October 2016. Kudrote Khuda Sobuj. "Suspected JMB Leader Killed in Kushtia 'Gunfight'." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

The Dhaka Tribune. 9 May 2016. Mohammad Jamil Khan. "Militants Resurgent in North Bengal." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2016]

The Diplomat. 7 July 2016. Rohan Joshi. "Dhaka Hostage Crisis: Anatomy of A Terror Attack." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2016]

The Diplomat. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016]

The Financial Express. 25 October 2016. "Police Nab Four JMB Suspects." (Factiva)

The Financial Express. 7 October 2016. "Police Arrest Suspected Member of JMB in Rajshahi." (Factiva)

The Independent. 6 June 2016. "'JMB?Planned Murder in Ctg Jail'." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

Jamestown Foundation. 24 June 2016. Animesh Roul. "Bangladesh Launches Crackdown on Islamist Threat." Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 14, Issue 13. [Accessed 28 Oct. 2016]

Jamestown Foundation. 6 February 2015. Animesh Roul. "Spreading Tentacles: The Islamic State in Bangladesh." Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 13, Issue 3. [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016]

Jamestown Foundation. N.d.a. "About Us." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016]

Jamestown Foundation. N.d.b. "Animesh Roul." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016]

Kashmir Images. 9 October 2016. "Dhaka: Security Raids Kill Four Suspected Neo-JMB Militants." (Factiva)

The New York Times. June 8 2016. Geeta Anand and Julfikar Ali Manik. "Bangladesh Says It Now Knows Who's Killing the Bloggers." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016]

Oxford Dictionaries. N.d.a. "Lakh." Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016]

Oxford Dictionaries. N.d.b. "Madrasa." [Accessed 9 Nov. 2011]

Pakistan Today. 12 August 2016. "Bangladesh Police Arrest Five Planning Suicide Attacks in Dhaka." (Factiva)

Political Handbook of the World 2015 (PHW). 2015. "Bangladesh." Edited by Thomas Lansford. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Power Politics. 1 October 2016. "Terror in B'desh: Of Concern to India?" (Factiva).

Power Politics. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016]

Protham Alo. 5 October 2016. "Seven JMB, HuT Members Captured." (BBC Monitoring South Asia/Factiva)

Reuters. 21 October 2016. "Bangladesh Says Dead Militant Headed Group Behind Cafe Attack." (Factiva)

Reuters. 9 October 2016. Ruma Paul. "Update 3-Bangladesh Kills 12 Islamists Blamed for Café Attack." (Factiva)

Reuters. 8 October 2016. "Bangladesh Kills Four Members of Islamist Group Blamed for Cafe Attack." (Factiva)

Reuters. 29 August 2016. Lesley Wroughton and Serajul Quadir. "Update 1-Islamic State 'Connected' to Bangladesh, Says Kerry, Offering Security Aid." (Factiva)

Roul, Animesh. November 2011. "Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh: Weakened But Not Destroyed." CTC Sentinel. Vol. 4, Issue 11-12. [Accessed 13 Nov. 2016]

South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). N.d.a. "Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)." [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016]

South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). N.d.b. "South Asia Terrorism Portal." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016]

START, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. N.d.a. Global Terrorism Database (GTD). "Overview of the GTD." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

START, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. N.d.b. Global Terrorism Database (GTD). "Search Results: 16 Incidents." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2016]

The Telegraph. 27 August 2016. Roland Oliphant. "Bangladesh Police Kill 'Mastermind' of Dhaka Cafe Massacre." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2016]

United Kingdom (UK). 15 July 2016. Home Office. Proscribed Terrorist Organizations. [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016]

United News of Bangladesh (UNB). 10 July 2016. "Eight Charged with Hoshi Kunio Murder." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2016]

United States (US). 2 May 2016. US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). "Bangladesh." Annual Report 2016. [Accessed 28 Oct. 2016]

The Washington Post. 28 August 2016. Saad Hammadi and Annie Gowen. "Suspected Mastermind of July Café Siege in Bangladesh is Killed in Shootout." (Factiva)

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: International Crisis Group; Professor of political science, Illinois State University; Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Canada – Public Safety; Council on Foreign Relations; ecoi.net; Factiva; Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; IRIN; Radio France internationale; Stanford University – Mapping Militant Organizations; UN – Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Refworld, Development Programme; US – Department of State.

Attachment

START, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. N.d. Global Terrorism Database (GTD). "Search Results: 16 Incidents." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2016]