JIR: "Radical thinking - Transnational jihadists eye Bangladesh"

Key points

• Bangladesh faces growing security threats from a range of radical Islamist interests, including entrenched Deobandi militants, newly emergent jihadist groups, and even transnational operations such as Al-Qaeda.

• A message from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in January 2014, the first specifically directed at Bangladesh, will resonate with a number of radical groups aiming to spread jihad within the country.

• Despite not having established a cell within Bangladesh to date, Al-Qaeda’s apparently rising interest in the country will galvanise local groups that pose a more immediate security threat.