Bangladesh arrests 3 for targeting US, India interests

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated:

Bangladesh has in recent months detained dozens of members of hardline Islamist groups who want to turn the secular democracy into a sharia state.

Bangladesh police arrested three suspected members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba on Friday on suspicion they were plotting to attack U.S. and Indian targets in the country, an official said.                                           

Last week police detained three other Lashkar-e-Taiba suspects during a raid in a madrasa in the port city of Chittagong.                                            

"We picked them up as they seemed to be plotting against vital foreign interests here," said a senior police officer about the arrests in the capital Dhaka on Friday. "They are being interrogated," he said. He didn't give more details.                                           

India says the Pakistan-based group is responsible for last year's assault on Mumbai. New Delhi says the Lashkar-e-Taiba has sought to forge links with militant groups in Bangladesh.                                           

Bangladesh has in recent months detained dozens of members of hardline Islamist groups who want to turn the secular democracy into a sharia state.