6 Islamic militants hanged in Bangladesh
30/3/2007 16:56
Six leaders of Islamic militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
(JMB) were hanged early today by the Bangladeshi government for killing two
judges through suicide bombings in 2005, and their bodies were sent to their
respective relatives, local television ATN reported.
Before the execution,
the government had beefed up security around prisons and courts across the
country as the JMB militants now on the run managed to regroup to make an
assault on the government prior to the hanging of their leaders, including JMB
chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman, an Afghan war veteran and his second-in- command
Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai, another Afghan war veteran.
The JMB militants
killed two judges in southern Jhalkathi town in November 2005. The militants
came to limelight after they blasted nearly 500 bombs almost simultaneously on
Aug. 17, 2005 across Bangladesh including capital Dhaka.
After the series of
bombings, the banned JMB militants made suicide attacks in different courts
killing judges, lawyers and police. They had targeted courts as they considered
current judiciary as the stumbling block to their mission of establishing
Islamic laws in this Muslim majority country.
The JMB leaders were given
death sentence by a lower court, and the death sentence was later confirmed by
Bangladesh upper courts.
The JMB leaders then sought mercy to Bangladesh
President Iajuddin Ahmed, the last resort, but the president also rejected their
mercy petitions early this month and the prison authorities executed the death
sentence early hours today.
In 2005, the JMB killed at least 28 people
through series of bombings and suicide attacks in Bangladesh and wounded
hundreds of others.
Xinhua
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