Four militants of banned group arrested in Bangladesh

Dhaka: At least four militants belonging to the banned Neo-JMB outfit were arrested by Bangladesh's anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Thursday.

Huge quantities of firearms and explosives were recovered from the militants linked with an offshoot of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh militant group, Xinhua news agency cited an RAB statement as saying.

The group is blamed for the July 1 deadly attack at the Holey Aritsan Spanish Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan that left 20 persons, mostly foreigners, dead.

The arrests were made during raids here and two adjoining districts, it said.

The JMB carried out a series of bombings, including in capital Dhaka, on August 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up and six top leaders, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.

Against the backdrop of a new wave of militancy, Bangladesh stepped up drive aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.