Bangladesh militant outfit chief escapes arrest

"Maulana Saidur Rahman, the JMB leader, went out of the house where he had been residing with his wife, just 20 minutes before the drive," Captain Taif, operation officer of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) that conducted the drive, told The Daily Star. The Rab arrested from his home his wife and his sister-in-law, whose names were not announced.

They seized papers inscribed with instructions on how to make bombs, some leaflets on Jihad, 25 cellphone SIMs and documents on JMB funds, Star Online web site said. Saidur Rahman, the incumbent amir of the banned outfit, has been leading the organisation since the execution of erstwhile JMB chief Abdur Rahman with five others in 2007.

The six were convicted of murdering two judges and hanged in April that year. The JMB, however, has managed to revive and regroup, with its activities partly shifted to chars (dried riverbeds) in remote areas, taking in more recruits and training them, media reports have said.