Another Dhaka cafe attack mastermind held in central Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi police Saturday said they have arrested another key mastermind of the brutal Dhaka cafe attack from the country's central Tangail district.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Friday night arrested Jahangir Alam alias 'Rajib Gandhi,' a leader of Neo-JMB blamed for the deadly attack.

Neo-JMB is an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Monirul Islam, chief of DMP's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, told journalists Saturday morning that Alam is believed to have played a key role in a number of terrorist attacks including the deadly attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan in July 2016.

The suspect was wanted in 20 to 22 cases filed in connection with terrorist attacks in recent years, he added.

He said Alam maintained close connections with many already arrested or killed cafe attacker.

Two militants including Gulshan cafe attack mastermind Nurul Islam Marzan were killed in a gunfight with police in capital Dhaka last week.

Bangladesh police have reportedly so far hunted down and killed at least 40 militants linked to the cafe attack, including mastermind Tamim Chowdhury who was killed in a police raid on Aug. 27 last year.

Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian and Sarwar Jahan, identified as Neo-JMB chief who was killed during a raid in October last year, have been blamed as the masterminds of the brutal attack on the Spanish cafe that left 20 hostages including 18 foreigners dead on July 1. last year. Endit