One of 9 militants killed in Dhaka raid is ‘missing’ varsity student

Dhaka, July 27 (IANS) One of the nine suspected militants killed in a raid on a hideout in Daka's Kalyanpur area has been identified as a US passport holder and a student of the city's North South University.

Shahzad Rouf Arko, son of Touhid Rouf, a resident of Dhaka's Bashundhara, was identified with the help of his family, Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told media.

According to the police official, Rouf was an MBA student of North South University, the Daily Star reported.

He went missing on February 3 and his father filed a General Diary (GD) three days later with Bhatara Police Station.

Meanwhile, two men -- one from Noakhali and the other from Chittagong -- have claimed that one of the terrorists killed in Tuesday's Kalyanpur raid as their son, creating confusion over who the militant is, Rahman said.

The man from Noakhali identified the slain militant as Jubair Hasan, while the Chittagong man identified him as Sabbir Huq Konik.

They claimed to have identified the militant, in his 20s, from the photo circulated by the police on Tuesday, the police official said, the Daily Star reported.

On Tuesday nine suspected militants were killed and one was caught alive during a special drive of the joint forces in Kalyanpur, ending an overnight standoff that ensued with a raid to hunt down a militant den.

Though the detainee claimed he was a militant of the Islamic State (IS), Bangladesh's Inspector General of Police A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque said the terrorists belonged to a banned terrorist outfit -- Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

"We suspect them to be JMB activists, but they claim themselves to be part of the IS," Hoque said.

"We have found no IS links with them," added Hoque.

Thirteen locally made grenades, around five kg of gel, 19 detonators, four 7.62 mm pistols, seven magazines of 7.62 mm pistols, 22 bullets, three commando knives, 12 guerrilla knives and two black flags with Arabic letters on it were found during the raid.

The militants had a lot in common with the terrorists who attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic zone on July 1 and also with the attackers of the Sholakia Eidgah on July 7.

The IGP said the militants and the Gulshan cafe attackers belonged to the same group.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina lauded the effort of the law enforcers and intelligence agencies and said the swift action has saved the country from a major disaster.

Since the Gulshan cafe attack, which left 22 people dead, including 18 foreigners and two policemen, police is conducting raids on suspected militant hideouts in the capital and elsewhere in Bangladesh.