Washington congratulates Dhaka on arrest of JMB chief

29 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Diplomatic Correspondent

The United States has congratulated the Bangladesh government on the arrest of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Maulana Saidur Rahman. "We congratulate the Government of Bangladesh on the arrest of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader Saidur Rahman in Dhaka on Sunday (May 23) evening," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said in a statement. The JMB has been responsible for numerous acts of indiscriminate violence against Bangladeshi civilians, including a coordinated series of bombings in August 2005 that affected 63 of the country's 64 districts, as well as attacks on judges, police and ordinary citizens, Blake said in the statement issued in Washington DC on Friday. "Sunday's arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile success stories in which local Bangladeshi law enforcement officers have arrested terrorist leaders who threaten the country's democratic institutions and secular traditions," he said. Blake said the United States looks forward to continued partnership with the Bangladesh government to deny space to terrorists and to promote regional peace and security. On May 25, the law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh disclosed the arrest of the JMB leader to the media.