2004 Shah Jalal bombing

2004 Shah Jalal bombing was a terrorist grenade attack on the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury. the High Commissioner was injured in the attack and two bystanders were killed. The attack was carried out by Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.

2004 Shah Jalal bombing
LocationShah Jalal's Dargah, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Date21 May 2004 (UTC+06:00)
TargetThe British High Commissioner to Bangladesh
Attack type
Mass murder; bomb attack; terrorism
Deaths3 dead
Injured70
PerpetratorsHarkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami

Background

The Shah Jalal shrine is a 700 year old Sufi site located in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Anwar Choudhury, the British high Commissioner went to visit Sylhet which was his ancestral home. He is a Bangladeshi born British Citizen.[1] He visited the shrine on 21 May 2004. He offer prayers at the Shrine and was greeting the people who had come to see him. The shrine was bombed in January of the 2004 which resulted in the death of 5 people.[2][3][4]

Attack

The bomb was thrown at the envoy when he was talking with the people present. The bomb hit him on his stomach but did not explode on impact but bounced off and landed near the feet of the District commissioner where it exploded.[2] Three people including a police personnel were killed in the attack.[5] Anwar Chowdhury was injured in the blast.[6]

Trial

Three men including Mufti Abdul Hannan the leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh were sentenced to death in the case in 2008.[7][8] The British High Commission welcomed the completion of the trial but opposed the death penalty.[7][9] The motive for the attack was "to avenge the deaths of Muslims in Iraq and across the world by America and Britain" according to the police.[7] The components of the grenades were traced to Pakistan.[10] Mufti Abdul Hannan was hanged on 13 April 2017 for his role in the bombing along with two other, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain alias Ripon, involved with the attack.[11]

Reactions
  • Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw issued a statement which said "I am deeply shocked by the news of this bomb and I extend my sympathies to all the victims and their families. "Details of exactly what happened and the nature of the injuries are not clear. We are grateful for the support we are receiving from the Bangladeshi authorities."[2]
  • Then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia condemned the attack and offered her sympathies to the victims.[6]
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References
  1. "Bangladesh blast: UK envoy hurt - May 21, 2004". CNN. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  2. "Blast at Shahjalal shrine injures British HC, kills 2". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  3. "Bangladesh shrine bomb kills two". BBC News. 2004-01-12. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  4. "Police probe Bangladesh bombing". BBC News. 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  5. Percival, Jenny (2008-12-23). "Death sentences for Bangladesh grenade attack on British envoy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  6. "UK envoy hurt in Bangladesh blast". BBC News. 2004-05-21. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  7. "Three to die for UK envoy attack". BBC News. 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  8. "Grenade atack [sic] on Anwar Choudhury: Mufti Hannan among four indicted - The Sylhet Times". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  9. "Ex-UK envoy grenade attack case full verdict released". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  10. "Rooted in mujahids returning from Afghanistan". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  11. "Huji kingpin Mufti Hannan hanged". The Daily Star. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2019-08-23.


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