Thread by @tasneem

Security czars in Bangladesh (the very ones who failed to stop Holey Artisan b/c of sheer incompetence and turf wars) are known for hyperbole and lies. CTTC chief Monirul Islam is no exception. But, his latest claims are mind-boggling. A thread.

thedailystar.net/backpage/news/…

At a time when ISIS and AQIS are regrouping in Bangladesh (and we know this based on their renewed propaganda efforts), Monirul says jihadis do not have the capacity to carry out an organised attack. I wonder how he is going to walk back on that once there is an attack.

More serious is the claim that Bangladeshi ISIS jihadis who went to fight in Syria, Iraq are either dead or captured. If that really is the case, CTTC can easily publish a list of individuals and account for all the fighters we know of. Who was captured and who died? Let us know!

But, no, CTTC can *not* do that b/c Monirul himself confirms that "law enforcers have no specific data on the Bangladeshi nationals who died and captured in Syria and Iraq."

This is absolutely correct, CTTC (nor RAB, nor DGFI) has no specific data on Bangladeshi or Bangladeshi origin jihadis who went to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS. Only a very few were identified in all these years.

There are a *large number* of Bangladeshi jihadis whom we know by their kunyas only. In fact, for some curious reasons, not a single person who went from Bangladesh to Syria appeared in leaked ISIS recruitment files. Only details about two Bangladeshis from Finland were leaked.

But, Monirul claims they will be able to stop these jihadis from returning to Bangladesh at the airport. How exactly are you going to do that if you do not know who they are?! And, how do we know some of them have already not returned?!

There are also some very important Bangladeshi ISIS figures we know of but have no idea whatsoever about their real identity. Take for example Abu Handala and Abu Wamiq who were based in Iraq and were part of ISIS weapons development program.

I shudder at the thought of any of these two somehow making their way back to Bangladesh. Exactly the kind of people capable of planning and executing large-scale attacks. How exactly is Monirul going to identify and stop them if they go via India or carry Western passports?

Or, how exactly is Monirul going to stop trained jihadis in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan from communicating with jihadis back home? But, he still claims things are under control and there is no threat.

The question is not if jihadis in Bangladesh have the capacity to mount a new attack *but* if CTTC has the capacity to stop the attack. Out of 100 tries, a terrorist needs to be successful only once even if he fails 99 times. CT agencies however need a 100% rate of success. //