Overview

Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury was the Canadian-Bangladeshi leader of ISIS-Bangladesh and the mastermind behind the July 1, 2016 Dhaka café attack and the July 7, 2016 shooting massacre in Sholakia. The Dhaka attack killed 28 people and wounded 26 others, while the shooting massacre killed four and injured several others.Lizzie Dearden, “Eid Bangladesh attack: At least four killed in bomb and shooting attack at country's largest Eid prayer gathering,” Independent, July 7, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/eid-bangladesh-attack-bomb-shooting-killed-death-prayers-police-eidgah-sholakia-isis-terror-a7124431.html; Lizzie Dearden, “Isis Bangladesh attack ‘mastermind’ identified as former student from Canada killed in police raid,” Independent, August 26, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/isis-bangladesh-dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-identified-tamim-chowdhury-canada-killed-in-police-raid-a7212671.html. Chowdhury was killed in a shootout between Bangladeshi forces and ISIS militants in Dhaka in August 2016.Lizzie Dearden, “Isis Bangladesh attack ‘mastermind’ identified as former student from Canada killed in police raid,” Independent, August 26, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/isis-bangladesh-dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-identified-tamim-chowdhury-canada-killed-in-police-raid-a7212671.html.

Chowdhury’s parents settled in Ontario, Canada shortly after Bangladesh’s independence war in 1971.Tamara Khandaker, “ISIS just identified a dead leader by name — and that's unusual,” Vice News, October 6, 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kw9dv/isis-just-identified-a-dead-leader-by-name-and-thats-unusual. Chowdhury reportedly attended the University of Windsor and graduated with a degree in chemistry in 2011.Dan Taekamea, “Terror suspect was a 'real bright kid,' former teacher says,” Windsor Star, August 29, 2016, https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/chowdhurys-time-in-windsor. During the period between 2009 and 2012, media sources report that Chowdhury allegedly became radicalized. In 2013, Chowdhury traveled Syria to join ISIS.Angshuman Choudhury, “Mapping the Dhaka Gulshan Attack: Who was Tamim Chowdhary?,” Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, October 4, 2016, http://www.ipcs.org/comm_select.php?articleNo=5143.

In October 2013, Chowdhury traveled to Bangladesh where he established himself as the ISIS “coordinator” in the country. According to an interview published in the August 2016 issue of Dabiq, ISIS’s propaganda magazine, Chowdhury’s agenda was to execute a series of terror attacks in Bangladesh and link them to ISIS. Chowdhury quickly established himself within the Islamist extremist community in the country and led a local group called New Jamat ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The group was a faction of the old JMB—a local jihadist group that rose to prominence in 2005 that violently targeted secular groups and Bangladeshi minorities—and served as Bangladesh’s link to ISIS. According to the Dabiq article, Chowdhury was referred to as the “Amir of the Khalifa’s soldiers in Bengal.” As the emir of the group, Chowdhury served as the overseer for arms procurement, recruitment, and financial mobilization.“Local ‘IS chief’ Tamim Chowdhury prime architect of Dhaka cafe attack, say police,” Indian Express, July 30, 2016, https://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/dhaka-cafe-attack-islamic-state-2944858/; “Bangladeshi-Canadian named as Dhaka cafe attack mastermind,” Indian Express, July 30, 2016, https://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/bangladeshi-canadian-named-as-dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-2944778/; Kamran Reza Chowdhury, “IS Has ‘Contacts’ With Local Militants, Top US Diplomat Tells Bangladeshi Officials,” Benar News, August 29, 2016, https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/bengali/kerry-bangladesh-08292016161203.html.

On July 1, 2016, Chowdhury, along with several other gunmen, stormed into the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, detonating explosives and taking 35 hostages. At least 28 people were killed and 26 others were wounded. The attackers killed 20 hostages, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, three Bangladeshis, one Indian, and one American. About 10 hours after the gunmen took over the cafe, 100 Bangladeshi commandos stormed the restaurant and managed to rescue 13 people.Aditya Kalra, Serajul Quadir, Ruma Paul, “Bangladesh gunmen made no demands, IS not involved – minister,” Reuters, July 2, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-attack/bangladesh-gunmen-made-no-demands-is-not-involved-minister-idINKCN0ZJ01T; David Caplan and Emily Shapiro, “20 Hostages Killed in Bangladesh Restaurant Attack, ISIS Claims Responsibility,” ABC News, July 2, 2016, https://abcnews.go.com/International/shooting-hostage-situation-underway-bangladesh/story?id=40283510. Bangladesh Police Chief Shahidul Hoque stated in an interview that Chowdhury was the mastermind behind the attack. Chowdhury allegedly recruited, trained, and advised the perpetrators, while also providing them weapons and explosives.Tamara Khandaker, “ISIS just identified a dead leader by name — and that's unusual,” Vice News, October 6, 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kw9dv/isis-just-identified-a-dead-leader-by-name-and-thats-unusual.

The day after the attack, ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre, stating the group targeted citizens of the “crusader countries.” On July 3, 2016, the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency published photos of five of the perpetrators holding assault rifles and posing in front of black ISIS flags.“Hostage crisis leaves 28 dead in Bangladesh diplomatic zone,” Associated Press, July 2, 2016, https://apnews.com/article/631cff7370dc467782ef5b5fc4aeed56. In another ISIS-affiliated publication, Rumiyah magazine, Chowdhury allegedly authored an article describing the Dhaka attack, claiming the restaurant was chosen because it was a “sinister place” where “crusaders would gather to drink alcohol and commit vices through the night.”Tamara Khandaker, “ISIS just identified a dead leader by name — and that's unusual,” Vice News, October 6, 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kw9dv/isis-just-identified-a-dead-leader-by-name-and-thats-unusual.

Bangladeshi forces were unable to apprehend Chowdhury after the Dhaka attack, and on July 7, 2016, militants detonated an explosive and carried out a shooting massacre at the largest gathering for Eid prayers in Sholakia, Bangladesh. The explosion and the shooting attack killed at least four and injured several. Following the attack, ISIS claimed responsibility, and according to Bangladeshi authorities, Chowdhury was the mastermind behind the bombing and shooting.Lizzie Dearden, “Isis Bangladesh attack ‘mastermind’ identified as former student from Canada killed in police raid,” Independent, August 27, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/isis-bangladesh-dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-identified-tamim-chowdhury-canada-killed-in-police-raid-a7212671.html; “2016 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bangladesh,” U.S. Department of State, 2016, https://www.state.gov/reports/2016-report-on-international-religious-freedom/bangladesh/.

On August 27, 2016, Bangladeshi security forces raided a building housing extremists in Dhaka. After an hour-long gun battle, Chowdhury was killed alongside two other men.Lizzie Dearden, “Isis Bangladesh attack ‘mastermind’ identified as former student from Canada killed in police raid,” Independent, August 27, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/isis-bangladesh-dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-identified-tamim-chowdhury-canada-killed-in-police-raid-a7212671.html; “Bangladesh 'cafe attack planner killed' in police raid,” BBC News, August 27, 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37202152.