CTTC on Militant Attack Threats: No Need to Panic
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Joint Commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Munshi Shahabuddin, has confirmed that they have officially received the warning from Police Headquarters regarding potential attacks on key national installations, including the Parliament Building. "We have received this information, and CTTC Cyber Intelligence is working on it," he stated. However, he did not provide specific information regarding the identification of any particular organization or group.
The official from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) specialized anti-militancy unit addressed journalists' questions during a press briefing at the DMP Media Center on Saturday.
Offering reassurance, the official said, "There is no reason to panic. We are working, and InshaAllah, we will be able to face this."
Previously, Police Headquarters issued a warning that members of a banned extremist organization might target important national installations. In a message sent to unit heads on Thursday, directives were given to "strengthen security."
While the message from Police Headquarters did not explicitly name the extremist organization, it mentioned the arrest of a member identified as Istiaq Ahmed Sami (alias Abu Bakr, alias Abu Mohammad). The alert regarding the "sabotage plan by supporters of a banned extremist group" noted that Istiaq had been in regular contact with two terminated army personnel.
When asked about the specific measures taken to strengthen security and surveillance as per the directive, the CTTC official replied, "This is part of our security planning, and I don't believe it is something to be disclosed publicly. We will work on the locations mentioned in the intelligence according to our security protocols."
Regarding whether those planning the attacks have been identified, he stated, "We are working on this, so I believe it is not yet the time to comment."
Notably, during the previous interim government, the then DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali had drawn significant attention by claiming "there are no militants in the country." He had even remarked that "during the Awami League's tenure, militancy was staged to kill young men; what militancy was there?"
