Daesh in Dhaka: Terrorism in Bangladesh

On the evening of 1 July 2016, at least five Bangladeshi men took numerous individuals hostage and carried out an attack on a café in Gulshan Thana, an affluent area of Dhaka. Over 20 individuals were killed in the attack, with many being subjected to acts of torture beforehand. This attack, which marked Bangladesh’s first hostage crisis since 1977, was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group; although the Bangladeshi government has subsequently blamed local actors. Unlike other terrorist attacks in the country to date; however, most of the victims of the Dhaka incident were foreigners, originating from Italy, Japan, the US and India. The identity of the attackers was also unprecedented, as the militants were described as middle-class university students who came from wealthy families. While terrorist attacks have spiked in the country in the last year, this latest incident may mark a shift in the nature of terrorism in Bangladesh which has historically been driven by domestic factors. 

Terrorism in Bangladesh has been a prominent threat in the country since the Liberation War against Pakistan of 1971. However, the actions of the ruling Awami League (AL) since coming to power in 2008 have arguably driven increased intent by local Islamist militants who were implicated in the conflict. In 2009, for example, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina passed the Anti-Terrorism Act and implemented several counter-radicalisation programmes which specifically targeted Islamist militant groups involved in the war such as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Harkatul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), Jamaat ul-Mujahideen (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). More recently, in 2015, two prominent war criminals were hanged following the Dhaka Tribunal, which sought to investigate and prosecute suspects for the genocide committed during the conflict. The execution of these two individuals and the arrest of over 3,000 people similarly involved in the 1971 war, drew widespread protests across the country. Acts such as these have contributed to negative sentiment towards AL, as the party has been seen as clamping down on opposition members. This, in turn, has inspired an extremist backlash and resulted in an associated increase in terrorism incidents in recent years. 

Ongoing domestic tensions in Bangladesh, therefore, provided the backdrop for the latest attack in Dhaka. James Clapper, the Director of US National Intelligence, noted in February 2016 that the very actions of Prime Minister Hasina alienate large portions of the population. This is likely to “provide openings for transnational terrorist groups to expand their presence in the country.” In this regard, the global appeal of IS offers a new platform for locals, particularly lone actors, to carry out attacks under the IS banner. The profile of the perpetrators of the latest Dhaka incident is indicative of this, as they had no prior militant affiliation. Moreover, IS’ actions in the country to date, while denied by government, have included claiming several other attacks. The JMB has also pledged allegiance to the militant group allowing IS to establish an operational foothold in the country. While the level of sympathy for IS in Bangladesh remains uncertain, Dhaka has nevertheless explicitly highlighted a new threat in the country which will likely contribute to a further increase in the number of attacks.