At least six members of the Fatah Combat System (FCS), including its chief instructor Shah Amanat Sabir, were apprehended in Bangladesh for allegedly undergoing training to support an extremist organization. The arrests took place in the Konapara area of Jatrabari in Dhaka, as reported by local media.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials disclosed that the six FCS members were first detained and then formally arrested under Bangladesh’s legal procedures. While the police sought a seven-day remand, the court granted only three days for investigation, according to ‘Dhaka Stream.’
Authorities from Bangladesh’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit confirmed that the suspects are currently under CTTC custody for further interrogation.
Following these arrests, the FCS made a social media plea for the release of the detained members. Additionally, a comment surfaced under the post calling on “all Al-Qaeda and IS supporters” to gather outside the police station, raising concerns.
Accusations by journalist Zulqarnain Sayer, part of an investigative team, suggested that Shah Amanat Sabir and the FCS were involved in training extremists and had connections with militants returning from Afghanistan. The group was also accused of using a housing project as a front to recruit members for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and establish a Bangladesh-based outfit resembling the TTP, as per Dhaka Stream.
Reports from the Bangladeshi newspaper ‘Blitz’ highlighted that the FCS, posing as a self-defence and martial arts institution, operated across various districts in Bangladesh. While publicly promoting discipline and combat skills, the group faced allegations of engaging in ideological screening, digital radicalization, and links to transnational jihadist movements, raising significant security concerns.
