Daesh ‘connected’ to Bangladesh, says Kerry, offering security aid
DHAKA: The United States believes that elements of Daesh are “connected” to operatives in Bangladesh, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday, promising help with intelligence and law enforcement after a wave of militant attacks.
Kerry’s blunt statement followed the July 1 attack on a cafe in an upscale district of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, in which 22 people were killed — mostly non-Muslims and foreigners, including one American.
It directly contradicted the narrative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which has blamed homegrown militants and denied a foreign hand in the hostage taking at the Holey Artisan Bakery that was claimed by Daesh.
The cafe raid was the most shocking of a series of atrocities that has included killings of atheist intellectuals, people from religious and sexual minorities and foreigners, raising fears over the stability of the mainly Muslim nation of 160 million.
Responding to questions after giv- ing a speech, Kerry said he had a “very candid” conversation with Hasina. He said that Daesh had wide contacts around the world, including in South Asia, adding: “They are connected to some degree with some of the operatives here, and we made that very clear in our conversations.”
As Kerry’s motorcade headed to the US embassy for meetings with opposition leaders, a government minister directly contradicted him.
“I told him that there is no such terrorist or militants from outside or who are connected with the (Daesh), but there are militants inside our country and they are homegrown,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.
Bangladesh’s secular government has continued to enjoy the West’s support despite concerns over its handling of the escalation in militant activity. Bangladesh’s security response has, say analysts, been colored by a political standoff with the Islamist-leaning opposition that is suspected by the government of links to local militant groups.
Later, Kerry arrived in India for talks on ambitious plans to hike trade between the world’s two largest democracies five-fold to around $100 billion. Kerry will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the two-day visit to the capital New Delhi and take part in a “strategic dialogue” between the two nations.