A new jihadist outfit named Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah al-Jihad (TUJ) has been unearthed by the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of Bangladesh Police. According to ATU sources, TUJ started getting organized for the past several months with the goal of major jihadist attacks in the country.
Law enforcement agencies arrested Jewel Mollah, kingpin of TUJ along with two other members and seized jihadist materials, communication device and flags of the outfit. Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah al-Jihad (TUJ) uses flag of Islamic State (ISIS), proving it has connections with this global jihadist outfit.
According to ATU, members of this new jihadist group are continuing activities to recruit new members, while they have been carrying out extensive propaganda of armed jihad and incitement to multi-faceted jihadist attacks. The top leaders and other members of this new jihadist outfit were trying to acquire more IT knowledge, learn bomb making techniques and raise money to run the organization.
ATU sources said, all the arrested members of TUJ were associated with other militant organization while they were running jihadist propaganda through secret online groups called ‘Darul Jannat’ on social media platforms and Telegram channel and were posting jihadist propaganda materials, including videos. It has also been giving instigation to youths in waging armed jihad in Bangladesh with the goal of establishing caliphate by “defeating” democratic system.
It may be mentioned here that in March 2022, US Department of State designated another jihadist outfit named Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), a Syria-based jihadist outfit which also has activities inside Bangladesh.
In the announcement, the US Department of State said: The United States is committed to addressing terrorist activity in ungoverned spaces in Syria through the judicious use of our counterterrorism tools and constructive engagement with our partners.
In keeping with that commitment, the Department of State is designating Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. In addition to this SDGT designation, KTJ has also been added to the UNSC 1267/1989/2253/2610 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, requiring all UN member states to implement an assets freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo against KTJ.
Affiliated with Al Qa’ida, KTJ operates primarily in Idlib Province, Syria alongside Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and cooperates with other designated terrorist groups such as Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari and Islamic Jihad Group. In addition to engaging in terrorist activities in Syria, KTJ has also been responsible for conducting external attacks, such as the Saint Petersburg metro attack in April 2017 which killed 14 passengers and injured 50 others, as well as a suicide car bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in August 2016 which wounded three people.
As a result of the SDGT designation, all property and interests in property of KTJ that are subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with it. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate any significant transaction on behalf of KTJ could also be subject to US sanctions.
Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate them and deny them access to the resources they need to carry out attacks. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other US agencies and governments.
