Bangladesh on Sunday blamed “homegrown” Islamist terrorists and Pakistan’s spy agency ISI for the country’s worst terror attack, in which 20 hostages were hacked to death.
The government ruled out the role of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as the shocked nation began observing two days of national mourning.
Hossain Toufique Imam, the political advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said that the way in which the hostages were killed with machetes suggests the role of a local terrorist group, the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.
Pakistan’s ISI and Jamaat connection is well known... they want to derail the current government.Hossain Toufique Imam
The arrested terrorist chickened out at the last minute and he holds the key to crucial details, Imam said.
The Bangladesh Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Hasanul Haq, has also alleged Pakistan’s involvement in the attack in an attempt to destabilise the constitutional government.
ISI did have connections with the Jamaat-e-Islami arm cadres in the past. Recently, few diplomats who were working under cover in Pakistan embassy were thrown out of the country because they were involved in arms network.Hasanul Haq, Bangladesh Minister of Information and Broadcasting
He maintained that the attack was carried out by homegrown terrorists to destabilise the government. When asked about the possible connection of ISIS with the Dhaka terror attack and the murder spree in the country, Haq said:
We have more than 20 attacks, more than 60 persons into our custody who were detected with these crimes. After interrogation and reports, there is no evidence whatsoever.
Reiterating his stance on ISIS influence he said that it has become a global trend of attackers to pledge allegiance to ISIS, Taliban or Al Qaeda.
The hostages who were killed include 19-year-old Indian girl Tarishi Jain, nine Italians, one Japanese and one American of Bangladeshi origin.
Among those rescued were Indian, Sri Lankan and Japanese nationals, media reports said. Around 30 people were injured.
A police source was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune that all the attackers were Bangladeshi nationals aged between 20 and 28.
Police said the attackers were well-educated and most came from rich families.
The government has consistently ruled out the presence of the dreaded terror group ISIS in the Muslim-majority nation, though experts have been maintaining that a series of brutal attacks on minorities and secular activists had the hallmarks of ISIS.
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