An Islamist militant has been arrested in connection with the murder of a prominent US blogger who was hacked to death by machete-wielding assailants in Dhaka in 2015, police said today.
Abu Siddiqui Sohel alias Sakib, 34, was arrested by the counter-terrorism unit last night from the Mohamadpur area in the capital, they said.
Sakib had joined Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in 2014 and he was associated with its intelligence wing, police said.
The ABT is blamed for the murder of more than a dozen progressive bloggers and rights activists between 2013 and 2016, most in gruesome machete attacks.
Sakib was produced before the magistrate where he made the confessional statement for over three hours today.
"He (Sakib) disclosed that a total of eight militants took part in the mission to kill (blogger) Avijit Roy," a court official told reporters.
Roy, known for his critique of religious extremism, was hacked to death by machete-wielding assailants as he left a book fair with his wife, who was critically injured in the assault on February 26, 2015.
Sakib said he was not directly involved in the murder but admitted his links with the banned ABT, the official said.
A police officer familiar with the process said Sakib earlier admitted that Roy was murdered on directives of rouge and deserted army officer called Major Zia.
Officials said sacked major Syed Zia-ul Haque was the key-mastermind of the murder of secular writers and bloggers.
The ABT, a homegrown militant group with links to Al- Qaeda, was banned by the government in 2015.
Police say 11 Islamists were involved in the attack.
Sakib's arrest came as six other suspects await trial in the case.
The High Court earlier this year awarded death penalty to two ABT militants for the 2013 murder of another blogger.
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