Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bangladesh police arrest top militant over cafe attack

Bangladesh police have arrested an Islamist militant over last year's deadly Dhaka cafe siege, officials said Saturday (8), as authorities continue to crack down on militant outfits a year after the attack.

The counter-terrorism unit arrested Sohel Mahfuz, who allegedly supplied the weapons used in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack where armed gunmen killed at least 22 people, mostly foreigners, after taking them hostage.


"He was the supplier of the weapons in the Holey incident. We were hunting him way before the attack," Abdul Mannan, counter-terrorism additional commissioner, said.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested the 33 year old from the northwestern Chapainawabganj district along with three associates, Mannan said.

Mahfuz is the chief of the northern command of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a homegrown Islamist extremist outfit blamed for the attack.

He is also wanted in India for his alleged role in a 2014 blast in Burdwan, West Bengal, in which two people were killed and police recovered a huge cache of improvised explosives, the official said.

The arrest came within days of US-based monitoring group SITE publishing a statement of an Islamic State operative who warned of many more attacks in West Bengal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The Islamic State claimed the Holey Artisan Bakery attack but the government has blamed homegrown JMB.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a spate of extremist violence in recent years, with dozens of foreigners, secular writers, atheist activists and members of religious minorities killed.

Since the cafe attack, security forces have gunned down nearly 70 Islamist extremists across the country and rounded up scores more.

More For You

Shabana Mahmood

Newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives at Number 10 at Downing Street as Keir Starmer holds a cabinet reshuffle on September 5, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shabana Mahmood named home secretary, Lammy deputy to Starmer in major reshuffle

Highlights:

  • David Lammy becomes deputy prime minister while keeping foreign affairs brief
  • Angela Rayner resigned after admitting underpaid property tax
  • Lisa Nandy to stay on as culture secretary
  • Reshuffle marks first major shake-up of Starmer’s government

SHABANA MAHMOOD has been appointed home secretary in a major reshuffle of prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet following the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration. (Photo: Getty Images)

Asylum seeker convicted of sex assaults case that led to protests

AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker, whose arrest in July led to protests outside a hotel near London where he and other migrants were housed, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman.

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles (30 km) from London, triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Angela-Rayner-Getty

Rayner, 45, announced she would step down as deputy prime minister, housing minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party. (Photo: Getty Image)

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner resigns after admitting tax mistake

Highlights

  • Rayner steps down after admitting underpaying property tax
  • Resigns as deputy prime minister, housing minister and Labour deputy leader
  • Becomes eighth minister to leave Starmer’s government, and the most senior so far
  • Her departure comes as Labour trails Reform UK in opinion polls

DEPUTY prime minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home. Her resignation is a fresh setback for prime minister Keir Starmer, who had initially stood by her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrants boat
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK pauses refugee family reunion route amid migration reforms

Highlights:

  • Refugee family reunion scheme suspended as part of migration reforms
  • Nearly 21,000 visas issued in the past year, mainly to women and children
  • New rules to include contribution requirements and longer waiting periods
  • Government expects first migrant returns to France later this month

THE GOVERNMENT has announced it is suspending a scheme that allowed families of refugees in the UK to apply to join their relatives, as part of efforts to cut irregular migration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Angela-Rayner-Reuters

Angela Rayner arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street on September 2, 2025. (Photo credit: Reuters)

Rayner's future uncertain as report on stamp duty case expected soon

DEPUTY prime minister Angela Rayner is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into her underpayment of stamp duty on a property in East Sussex, with the findings expected soon.

Prime minister Keir Starmer said he anticipated the report, led by ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, would be delivered “pretty quickly.” He added: “Then, of course, I will act on whatever the report is that's put in front of me.”

Keep ReadingShow less