Savar Raid Exposes Bomb Network: 14 Pipe Bombs, TATP Found
Police have uncovered a suspected bomb making operation with CTTC (Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime) recovering 14 pipe bombs, TATP, JMB leaflets and bomb making materials inside a rented home in Savar. The raid comes after months of bomb related incidents, with investigators now examining whether several cases dating back to December were linked to the same network.
In a Nutshell:
- CTTC and the Bomb Disposal Unit recovered 14 pipe bombs, bomb making materials, TATP and JMB leaflets from a rented room in Shyampur, Hemayetpur, after detaining Arif Hossain.
- Police say Arif had five pipe bombs in his bag when he was detained, and his information led them to nine more bombs inside the Savar house.
- Arif's name had already surfaced in connection with the December 26, 2025, explosion at Ummul Qura Madrasa in Keraniganj, followed by alleged links to incidents in Jatrabari, Cumilla and Sayedabad in February and March.
- Investigators are examining whether the same network made the IED found beneath Motijheel Metro Station on July 24 and the pressure cooker IED recovered in Ashulia on July 31.
- CTTC sources identify Nazmul Hasan alias Bomaru Mamun as a suspected senior Neo JMB trainer and key bomb maker, but he remains at large.
Context
The Savar raid comes after several bomb incidents this year, including six crude bombs found near the Supreme Court judges' entrance in March, an IED hidden inside an umbrella beneath Motijheel Metro Station on July 24, and a pressure cooker IED recovered in Ashulia on July 31. A suspected locally made IED then exploded at a home in Bakerganj, Barishal, on August 3, critically injuring three family members. DMP also confirmed that suspicious objects found at Mirpur 10 and Farmgate Metro stations on August 1 contained no explosives.
Why it matters
Why was it so easy for Arif to run a bomb making operation from within the four walls of a rented home? He reportedly posed as a driver looking for a family home near a school, giving the landlord no reason to suspect that the room could be used to make explosives. Police then found 14 pipe bombs, TATP, JMB leaflets and bomb making materials inside that room. That becomes far more troubling given that Arif's name had already surfaced in the December 26 Keraniganj explosion and later incidents in Jatrabari, Cumilla and Sayedabad in February and March.
What we think
The JMB link makes that failure more concerning, given the group's history. JMB, including its leader Bangla Bhai, was behind the August 17, 2005, bombings across 63 districts, while the BNP-led government was then in power in coalition with Jamaat e Islami. The fact that Arif could allegedly operate a bomb making room for months and that suspected key bomb maker Nazmul Hasan alias Bomaru Mamun is still at large points to a serious failure to get ahead of the threat. If the recent bomb making operations do involve Neo JMB, the possibility of further militant attacks becomes a serious concern, particularly given the group's history of carrying out coordinated attacks across the country.