Bangladeshi Police Detain Terror Group Leader Suspected of Dhaka Cafe Attack

NEW DELHI(Sputnik) — Bangladeshi police have detained Abul Kashem, a spiritual leader of the Neo-JMB terrorist organization which is the offspring of the banned jihadist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), suspected of the July 2016 attack, local media reported Friday, citing police.

According to the bdnews24 media outlet, Kashem was detained on Thursday night in the country's capital Dhaka.

On July 1, 2016, Islamist militants took hostages inside a cafe located in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter. A total of 22 people had been killed by the hostage takers before the Bangladeshi security forces began their operation to free the people.

The Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the Bangladeshi authorities believe that Neo-JMB was behind the terror act.

The JMB is a Bangladesh-based radical Islamist group, which also operates in the northeast of India. It was established in 1998 in Palampur Abdur Rahman. On August 17, 2005, the JMB exploded about 500 bombs at nearly 300 locations in Bangladesh within a campaign to establish Sharia law in the country. In 2005, the radical group was officially banned and six of its leaders, including Rahman, were arrested.