Bangladeshi expatriates Islamic extremist threat from Lebanon to kill Dhaka's five secular bloggers

Five Bangladeshi secular writers, bloggers, journalists received threat on their life through mobile on last Friday afternoon. The threat came around Dhaka's local time 4 to 5pm from the unknown cell phone number, 0096176392213 from Antelias, Beirut, Lebanon.

Five Bangladeshi secular writers, bloggers, journalists received threat on their life through mobile on last Friday afternoon. The threat came around Dhaka's local time 4 to 5pm from the unknown cell phone number, 0096176392213 from Antelias, Beirut, Lebanon.

The phone caller claimed that he is the chief of 'The Ansarullah Bangla Team' (ABT), Lebanon. ABT also called 'Ansar Bangla', is an Islamic extremist organization in Bangladesh. He claimed, he is an officer of The Wooden Bakery (Zalka), the famous fastest growing company in Lebanon. According to his claim, his name is Dhin Islam (representative of religion Islam) and his Facebook ID is-  https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009192504164%2. 

Dhin Islam said over phone to secular bloggers, 'Why do you support rude bloggers and uphold their statements? Do you want to die and scream with pain in face of machete attack? We will kill you.'

The five, who received the death threat are- Jahanara Ferdous, Azhar  Mahmud, Simanto Das Joy, Shahriar Naiem and Amitab Roy. They lives in Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. They want the supreme punishment of war criminals of 1971, during the liberation war of the country. Besides, they write on behalf of humanity and secularism. 

Amitab Roy has lodged a General Diary (GD) on 16 July, 2016, to his nearest Police Station, Shahbag Thana, Dhaka, with this connection. He is seeking security after he was threatened. Police said, investigation is going on to identify the person who sent the death threat.


Noted that a Singapore court jailed four Bangladeshi workers for two to five years for financing terrorism on last 12 July. The four, detained in April under Singapore's Internal Security Act, pleaded guilty to their crimes on May 31. They were earlier charged with providing or collecting money to fund terrorist acts in Bangladesh. Between November 16 and December 1 last year, the Singapore authorities arrested 27 Bangladeshi construction workers for “supporting armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda”.




Asking for deterrent sentences, the prosecution pointed out that the accused men have caused public disquiet and were funding ISIS, one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations in the world. 

According to Singapore-based The Straits Times reports, court documents showed that the four convicts had clearly defined roles. Working in the marine and construction industries, they called themselves the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB). They were planning attacks back home in hopes of toppling the present government. Their goal was to set up an Islamic state in Bangladesh and bring it under the self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Earlier on April 29, Singapore had deported five Bangladeshis for their suspected militancy links.

Besides, The Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), implicated in crimes including some brutal attacks and murders of atheist bloggers from 2013 to 2016 and a bank heist in April 2015. The gang was outlawed days after the bank robbery by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh on 25 May 2015. The group has been claimed by police to be linked to 'Islami Chhatra Shibir', the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami party in Bangladesh.

According to the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium of Bangladesh, the ABT is an al Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group in Bangladesh that started its activities during 2007 as the Jama’atul Muslemin funded by different NGOs. The group ceased to operate when funding ended. It resurfaced during 2013 as the ABT. Ansarullah Bangla Team is a front group for al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.

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BY AMITAB KAISER, DHAKA