# Terrorism in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has experienced terrorism in the past conducted by a number of different organisations. In the past, both ISIL and other terrorist organisations had claimed to be active in the country. However, the Bangladeshi government believes that they mainly operated through local affiliates, before being neutralised by security forces.

## History

The first Bangladeshi Islamist factions emerged in 1989, when a network of 30 different factions was established and expanded in the following years. The main goal of most Islamist groups in Bangladesh is to create a separate Islamic state, or to govern Bangladesh according to Sharia law. Islamist groups have conducted operations against the ruling party's corruptions in the country. Islamic groups are alleged to be terrorists for political interests.

## Timeline
### First phase
#### 1973

* On 1 January, Mohammad Abdul Jalil formed the Biplobi Shainik Sangstha.
* In April, Siraj Sikder, the founder of the Maoist group, Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party, formed the Purba Banglar Jatiya Mukti Front and declared war against the Bangladeshi government.

#### 1975

* On 2 January, Siraj Sikder was shot and killed by police in Savar Upazila, Dhaka.
* On 15 August, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated by group of mutineers from the Bangladesh Army, along with most of his family members.
* On 3 November, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, Mujib's usurper, was ousted by Maj. Gen. Khaled Mosharraf and three other high-ranking officers in a bloodless counter-coup.
* On 7 November, Maj. Gen. Khaled Mosharraf, Col. Abu Taher Mohammad Haider, and Col. Khondkar Nazmul Huda were killed in another counter-coup led by the JSD-backed Biplobi Shainik Sangstha.
* On 24 November, JSD leader Abu Taher was arrested under the order of Ziaur Rahman. Abu Taher was executed on 21 July 1976, ending the first phase of the conflict.

### Second phase
#### 1984

* On 31 May, a group of 125 Shanti Bahini insurgents massacred about 400 Bengali settlers in Bhushanchhara Union of Barkal Upazila, Rangamati.

#### 1986

* On 29 April, Shanti Bahini insurgents massacred 19 Bengali settlers in Tanakkapara Union of Panchhari Upazila, Khagrachhari.

### Third phase
#### 1999

* On 18 January 1999, Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh carried out at assassination attempt on Shamsur Rahman.
* A 6 March bomb attack on Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi in Jessore killed 10.
* A 15 March bomb attack on the home of Mohibur Rahman Manik, Awami League member of parliament, killed two.
* On 8 December1999, an Ahmadi mosque was bombed, killing eight.

#### 2001

* On 20 January, a rally by the Communist Party of Bangladesh was bombed, killing five people and wounding 70 others.
* On 14 April, 10 people were killed in a series of bombings perpetrated by Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.
* On 1 June, 10 people were killed in the Gopalganj Roman Catholic church bombing.
* On 16 June, a rally of the Awami League was bombed in Narayanganj.
* On 23 September, a rally of the Awami League in Bagerhat was bombed.
* On 26 September, a rally of the Awami League was bombed in Sunamganj, killing four.
* On 16 November, the death of Gopal Krishna Muhuri took place in Chittagong.

#### 2002

* On 6 December, 27 people were killed in the coordinated bombing of cinema halls in Mymensingh.
* On 28 September, three people were killed and 100 injured in the bombing of a cinema hall and circus in Satkhira.

#### 2003

* On 17 January, a bomb blast occurred at a shrine fair in Tangail.
* 22 January, five people were killed in a Sufi shrine, including its caretaker.
* On 8 February, Sayed Kawsar Hossain Siddique founded an Islamist organization named Shahadat-e al Hiqma.
* On 1 March, a police sergeant was killed in a bomb attack in Khulna.
* On 11 March, two police constables were killed in a bomb attack.
* On 12 March, a police officer was killed in a bomb attack in Khulna.
* On 6 September, an Awami League leader was killed in a bomb attack.

#### 2004

* On 12 January, a bombing in Shah Jalal Dargah killed 12.
* On 13 January, a bomb attack on Fazlur Rahman, joint secretary of Sharsha Upazila unit of the Awami League in Benapol killed him and injured six.
* On 13 January, three people were killed in a bomb attack on Shah Jalal Dargah.
* On 13 January, a bomb was thrown on a traffic sergeant which failed to explode in Moilapota intersection, Khulna.
* On 15 January, Manik Chandra Saha, journalist, was killed in a terror attack.
* On 24 January, a police camp was bombed in Bagerhat, injuring three police officers.
* On 20 February, a movie house at Rupsa Upazila was bombed, injuring four.
* On 4 March, an Awami League leader was killed in a bomb attack in Bagerhat. Another Awami League leader was assassinated in Narayanganj.
* On 4 August, a bomb attack on Rangmahal Cinema and at Monika Cinema in Sylhet killed one and injured ten.
* On 21 August, HuJI militants perpetrated a grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka, killing 24 people and injuring over 300.
* On 24 December, Rajshahi University Professor Mohammad Yunus was killed in an attack by JMB.

#### 2005

* On 17 August, a total of 500 bombs exploded in 300 locations across Bangladesh, killing two people and injuring 50. Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh later claimed responsibility for the bombings.
* On 1 October, Mufti Abdul Hannan, the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh, was arrested.
* On 3 October, Chittagong court, Chandpur Court and Laxmipur court were attacked with bombs.
* On 14 November, JMB killed two judges in bomb attack in Jhalaikathi.
* On 29 November, a suicide attack was carried out on Gazipur Courthouse.
* On 29 November, a bombing took place at a Chittagong court house.
* On 8 December, a suicide bomb attack occurred at a festival in Netrokona.

#### 2006

* On 19 December, a top leader of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, Abdullah al-Tasnim, was arrested by police.

#### 2008

* On 1 January, Amirul Islam, a regional leader of the Biplobi Communist Party, was killed in a shootout with police.

#### 2009

* On 30 October, three people were killed in a bomb attack on Shah Jalal Dargah.

#### 2011

* On 28 July, the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Rajshahi sentencced the founder of Shahadat-e al Hiqma, Sayed Kawsar Hossain Siddique, to jail.

#### 2014

* On 28 January, a PBCP leader, Islam Sabuj, was killed in a shootout with police.
* In April, Abdullah al-Tasnim was bailed out of jail.
* In July, Jakir Khandakar allegedly reactivated Shahadat-e al Hiqma and shifted headquarters to Bandarban District, Chittagong.
* On 17 September, acting on a tip, Rapid Action Battalion discovered and dismantled a weapons and explosives storage facility located in the Satchhari forest, Chunarughat Upazila, Habiganj. 112 rocket launchers and 14 sacks of explosive material were confiscated during the operation.
* On 18 September, police arrested seven JMB militant, including a top commander Abdullah al-Tasnim, in the Landing Station Port area. The militants intended to utilise 10 kilograms of liquid explosives, in a number of terrorist acts throughout the country, in order to establish cooperation with ISIL.
* On 1 November, a Rapid Action Battalion operation led to the capture of JMB's main coordinator Abdun Nur as well as four other militants. IED components were also seized.

#### 2015

* On 26 February, Bangladeshi-American blogger, Avijit Roy, and his wife, Bonya Ahmed, were attacked by members of Ansarullah Bangla Team with machetes. Roy died while Ahmed survived
* On 5 November, a 'top leader' of the PBSP-MBRM and former cadre of the GMF, Sahinur Rahman, was killed in a shootout with the Detective Branch of the Bangladesh Police at Sadar Upazila, Rajbari District.

#### 2016

* On 15 March, ISIL claimed responsibility for murdering a Muslim preacher in Bangladesh.
* On 22 March, unidentified attackers hacked a Christian convert to death in northern Bangladesh. A day after, ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.
* On 7 April, a secular blogger was hacked to death by Islamists who claimed to be part of al-Qaeda.
* On 23 April, an university professor, A. F. M. Rezaul Karim Siddique, was hacked to death on his way to work in northern Bangladesh. Without any evidence, ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.
* On 25 April, al-Qaeda militants hacked LGBTQ activist, Xulhaz Mannan, and his friend to death in his apartment.
* On 30 April, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his store. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack. On the next day, Bangladesh authorities arrested three ISIL suspects for the murder.
* On 21 May, a homeopathic doctor was hacked to death in Bangladesh. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.
* On 1 July, militants hacked a Buddhist farmer to death in Bandarban District. Mong Shwe Lung Marma, 55, was also vice president of the Awami League. ISIL fighters claimed responsibility for the murder.
* On 1 July, five attackers opened fire inside the Holey Artisan Bakery located in the Gulshan neighbourhood, which is also part of the diplomatic enclave of Dhaka. Around 22 civilians and two police officers were killed. All five attackers were killed by the commando units of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, who stormed the building.
* On 27 August, three militants, including Abu Dujanah al-Bengali, were killed during a joint forces raid at a house in Narayanganj Sadar Upazila.

#### 2017

* On 14 March, a Muslim Sufi spiritual leader and his daughter were shot and hacked to death by unknown militants in northern Bangladesh.
* On 17 March, during the 2017 Dhaka RAB camp suicide bombing, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside an under construction camp of the anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion, mildly injuring two security personnel.
* On 24 March, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police check-post on the road leading to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport causing no injuries to other people. ISIL claimed the attack.
* On 25 March, during the 2017 South Surma Upazila bombings, a suicide bombing killed four civilians and two police officers and wounded around 40 during a security forces raid on a suspected terrorist hideout in South Surma Upazila. ISIL claimed responsibility. Four militants were also killed.
* On 12 April, Mufti Abdul Hannan, the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh, alongside two associates, were executed at Kashimpur Central Jail almost 12 years after being arrested.

#### 2018

* On 11 March, 35-year-old Notun Moni Chakma, a member of the United People's Democratic Front, was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Goboghona village, Rangamati.
* On 28 May, three members of the United People's Democratic Front were gunned down by unidentified assailants in Korolyachhari, Baghaichhari Upazila. The United People's Democratic Front blamed the attack on two rival groups, the PCJSS-MN Larma and the United People's Democratic Front (Democratic).

#### 2019

* On 29 June, acting on a tipoff, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested five members of banned militant outfit Ansar Al Islam (AAI) from Belpukur area in Puthia Upazila of Rajshahi. RAB recovered a pistol, 24 crude bombs, five bullets, two magazines, 10 jihadi books and eight organisational notebooks from them.
* On 26 August, members of the United People's Democratic Front engaged in a shootout with a group of patrolling soldiers in Dighinala Upazila, Khagrachhari, leaving three militants dead.

#### 2020

* On 28 December, Rashidul Islam, a regional leader of Gono Mukti Fouz was arrested by the RAB in Kushtia District, Khulna after a raid. One rifle, one pistol, 16 rounds of ammunition and "domestic weapons" were recovered.

#### 2021

* On 18 January, a Khulna court sentenced five cadres of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party-Janajuddho to life imprisonment.
* On July, the United People's Democratic Front's Joan Chakma led a contingent of Buddhist-Chakmas to Suandrapara, a village of the Bawm Christian convert community, where they issued threats and conducted two raids, damaging a church.
* On 30 July, four members of the United People's Democratic Front were arrested in Langadu Upazila, Rangamati for extortion.

#### 2022

* On 18 July, Bangladesh Police announced the arrests of Nur Mohammad, chairman of ARSA's fatwa committee, and Abu Bakkar, a commander of the group accused of the killings of Rohingyas in October 2021. The two were stated to have been arrested on 7 and 17 July respectively. Armed Police Battalion unit 14 commander Naimul Haque claimed that they had arrested 836 Rohingyas linked to ARSA in the last six months.

#### 2023

* On 21 July, ARSA commander Hafez Nur Mohammad was captured by the Rapid Action Battalion in Cox's Bazar.

#### 2024

* On 18 May, two members of the United People's Democratic Front were shot dead by presumed rivals of the United People's Democratic Front in Langadu Upazila.
* On 9 June, four members of the Kuki-Chin National Front, identified as Moithang Bom, Jouthan Bom, Thomas Edison Bom and Lal Ronih Sang Bom, were arrested in Jurvarongpara, Paindu Union, Ruma Upazila, Bandarban District.
* On 13 September, the Interim Government of Bangladesh released Jasimuddin Rahmani, the alleged "chief of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Ansarullah Bangla Team" who was convicted for "killing secular bloggers" and had reportedly urged the West Bengal state government to break away from India and declare independence.