‘Never imagined I would come back’

Staff Reporter :
Bangladeshi UN official Lt Col Sufiul Anam (retd), who had been abducted by Yemen’s branch of Al-Qaeda, was rescued on Tuesday after 18 months. And returned to Dhaka on Wednesday, a day after his release from captivity.

It is learnt that the National Security Intelligence (NSI) rescued Sufiul Anam on the directives of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the National Security Intelligence (NSI) for the rescue efforts.

“I could not even imagine that I will be able to return to the country with my life,” he said at a press briefing upon his arrival at the Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport in an Emirates flight at around 5:30pm.

Earlier on 11 February 2022, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) kidnapped Anam and four others as they was returning to the port city of Aden after a field mission.
The militants demanded USD 30 million as ransom.

In September, Sufiul appealed to different parties including UN for his release from the abductees.

In a video message he said he is in a bad condition.

He may be killed if the demand of the abductees is not met. The abductees released the video.

Later the SITE Intelligence Group brought the matter to the fore.

On 29 December 2022, the foreign ministry approved the visit of a five-member team to Yemen. The delegation led by Col Kazi Mohammad Zakaria was formed.