Bangladesh to cooperate with US in anti-terror war
DHAKA, Jan 23: Bangladesh is ready to cooperate with the United States on counter-terrorism measures following a series of deadly blasts linked to a banned religious group, Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said on Sunday.
The ‘United States had given us the offer... and we are ready to do that. The modality has to be worked out’, the minister was quoted by the private UNB news agency as saying. He did not elaborate.
Bangladesh has been rocked by a series of suicide bombings and other blasts blamed on Jamayetul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB), which wants to establish Islamic law in the country.
At least 28 people, including four suicide bombers, have been killed in the attacks since Aug 17, prompting the country’s Islamist-allied government to admit for the first that it had a problem with militancy.
Bangladesh has mobilized thousands of police, paramilitary troops and members of the Rapid Action Battalion to hunt for members of the group led by an Afghan war veteran.
Last month, the United States warned its citizens to take ‘extra care’ in Bangladesh in the wake of the bombings.
“JMB’s introduction of suicide bombers in November represented a significant escalation in its campaign of violence,” the embassy said, adding that the group had adapted its methods and targets to defeat anti-terrorism measures. —AFP
