Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque

Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque
Allegiance	Bangladesh
Service/branch	Bangladesh Army
Rank	Major

Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque is a Bangladesh Army officer and a fugitive. He was one of the main plotter of the 2011 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt.^[1] He is presently a top military commander of the Al-Qaeda linked Ansarullah Bangla Team who have carried out a number of terror attacks in Bangladesh.^[2][3]

Early life

He was born in Mostafapur, Moulvibazar District, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. His father Syed Zillul Haque is a businessman. He is a practicing Muslim. He became more fundamentalist after the death of his wife from Cancer.^[4]

Career

He joined the Bangladesh Army through the 41st long course of the Bangladesh Military Academy. He studied in the Military Institute of Science and Technology. He is described as being "intelligent" and "skilled in IT". He played a key role in the organization of the 2011 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt. He contacted army officers in different cantonments asking them to take part in the coup to establish Islamic law in the country.^[4] The coup was aided by the branch of pan-Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh branch. He started in the engineers corp and has been trained in special operations.^[5] He ran after the coup attempt failed. He joined Ansarullah Bangla Team and quickly rose through their ranks.^[2] Jamaat’ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team at a meeting inside the Kashimpur high security jail and agreed to work together. Jamaat’ul-Mujahideen wanted Major Zia to help them with their bomb making skills.^[6] In 2016 the government of Bangladesh announced a 4 million Taka bounty on him.^[7]

References

1. "Arrest Maj Ziaul, Ishraq". thedailystar.net. The Daily Star. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
2. "Home-grown militants and ex-major behind Bangladesh attacks, police say". reuters.com. Reuters. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
3. "Ansarullah Bangla Team reorganised as Ansar al-Islam". en.prothom-alo.com. Prothom Alo. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
4. "Major Zia used UK mobile SIM to talk to officers". thedailystar.net. The Daily Star. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
5. "Who is militant Zia?". dhakatribune.com. Dhaka Tribune. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
6. "JMB sought military skills from Maj Zia". archive.dhakatribune.com. Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
7. "Tk40 lakh bounty on top 2 militants, details released". dhakatribune.com. Dhaka Tribune. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.