U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 - Bangladesh

Bangladesh continued to arrest, prosecute, and convict top leaders and activists of Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB), the banned Islamic extremist group responsible for a wave of bombings and suicide attacks in late 2005. In response to the attacks, the government's Rapid Action Battalion, a paramilitary organization, emerged as Bangladesh's lead counterterrorism unit responsible for the arrests of significant numbers of JMB leaders and activists. Although JMB remnants have threatened violence if the death sentences of JMB leaders under appeal are carried out, there was no JMB-linked violence in 2006. In September, authorities arrested four members of another banned terrorist organization, Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B), two of whom confessed involvement with the 2004 grenade attack that severely injured the British High Commissioner, the 2005 assassination of opposition Awami League elder statesman Shah Kibria, and three attacks on two other Awami League leaders.

The Government of Bangladesh stated that it intended to close permanently the local office of the radical Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, but has yet to do so. The Central Bank of Bangladesh fined Islami Bank for violating anti-money laundering laws in connection with possible financing of JMB activities. Islami Bank has a number of board members who are associated with the Jamaat Islami Party, a member of the ruling coalition.

India continued to allege that the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and other anti-India insurgency groups operated from Bangladesh with the concurrence of senior Bangladeshi government officials. The Government of Bangladesh strongly denied these allegations. Nonetheless, the arrest in India of two Pakistanis linked to the Mumbai train bombings who allegedly entered India from Bangladesh underscored how porous the Indo-Bangladeshi border is. The absence of counterterrorism cooperation between India and Bangladesh fueled mutual allegations that each country facilitated terrorism inside the borders of the other.

U.S. and Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies cooperated well on several cases related to domestic and international terrorism. With U.S. technical assistance, Bangladesh drafted an improved anti-money laundering law, and put into operation basic elements of a Financial Intelligence Unit. Bangladesh also continued cooperation with the United States to strengthen control of its borders and land, sea, and air ports of entry.