Bangladesh anti-terrorism police say an ex-soldier is being questioned, after his arrest following a manhunt that began in April after warnings of attacks targeting airports, parliament and places of worship.
Police said the suspect, Mohammad Mahed, “had taken refuge in a hideout near the Indian border”.
Counterterrorism officers questioned Mahed, who police said was linked to a radical Islamist group.”The arrested individual is a dismissed army personnel member and was inspired by the ideology of the banned outfit Dawlatul Islam Neo-JMB,” a police statement late Friday said.
In late April, police tightened airport security after they warned of a possible attack, and a manhunt had been ongoing since then.
Police said the suspects could launch attacks on key installations, including airports, parliament and places of worship, using “sharp weapons, firearms or explosive devices”.
Bangladesh has been targeted by homegrown militant groups inspired by Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
An attack on a bakery in Dhaka in 2016 killed 22 people, most of them foreigners. Around that time, Al-Qaeda-linked militants killed several secular writers and activists, including Avijit Roy, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin.
Five men were sentenced to death in 2021 for killing the secular blogger.