Dhaka, May 15 -- Police have arrested a member of the extremist group "Maktabah Al Himmah Addawatul Islamiyah" during a special operation in a remote area of Moulvibazar's Barlekha.

The suspect was arrested around 2:30pm on Thursday after nearly 12 hours of operation in an isolated hill in Bobarthol Shaitghori, Barlekha Police chief Moniruzzaman Khan said.

Moulvibazar district police identified the arrestee, 23-year-old Rahed Hossain Mahed from Sylhet's Bishwanath Upazila, as a dismissed Bangladesh Army soldier and an operative of the extremist outfit.

Police said he had been in hiding for a long time and was attempting to flee illegally to India.

Moniruzzaman told bdnews24.com that Police Headquarters had issued an intelligence alert...