Key plotter of Dhaka terror attack arrested

Dhaka: A militant who planned last year`s deadly terror attack in Dhaka and and carried arms for it was arrested in the country`s Natore district on Friday morning, the police said.

Abu Jara Rashed, who belongs to the banned Neo-JMB group and carried arms and grenades from Chapainawabganj district to Dhaka, was the key plotter of the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, in the posh Gulshan area, that left 22 persons, mostly foreigners, dead on July 1 last year, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Dhaka Police`s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit chief Monirul Islam said Rashed alias `Rash` is being brought to the capital for further interrogation.

"We`re bringing him to Dhaka. He will be taken to court and shown arrested in the Dhaka cafe attack case," he said.

According to the official, Rashed maintained close connections with many already arrested and killed cafe attack plotters.

The police have so far hunted down and killed 40 militants linked with the cafe attack, including mastermind Tamim Chowdhury, who was killed in a police raid on August 27 last year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Neo-JMB, an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), has been blamed for the attack.