2 ‘Neo JMB’ men held

Counterterrorism officials claimed to have arrested two members of a Neo JMB "sleeper cell" during a raid in the capital's Sadarghat area on Monday evening.

The arrestees are: Saffat Islam alias Abdullah alias William alias Al Arsalan alias Mehemed Chagri Beg (18) and Yasir Arafat alias Shanto (20).

"They are active members of the military wing of Neo JMB... Seven to eight Neo JMB operatives including the duo formed the sleeper cell," said Saiful Islam, deputy commission of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The law enforcers also seized two mobile phones, a knife, and some hand-written notebooks containing instructions regarding their plan of action, the official said.

Saffat left his Elephant Road residence and Arafat his Keraniganj residence on August 4 to join the cell. They were trying to recruit new members and give them military training.

They planned on killing influential politicians and atheists, and tried to collect weapons and bombs as per their plans.

According to CTTC officials, the "sleeper cell" maintained at least four units -- spy, sniper, cyber security and manufacturing. They said the cell members communicated through social media platforms and encrypted apps.

A case was filed against them with Kotwali Police Station.