ISIS militants kidnap Bangladeshi

A Bangladeshi was among nine foreign nationals taken hostage by Islamic State militants in an attack on an oilfield in Libya on Friday.

The victim, Helal Uddin, 40, from Madarganj upazila in Jamalpur, has been working in the North African country for the last six years, according to his family and the foreign ministry.

“The incident happened when gunmen invaded the al-Ghani oilfield to the south of the Libyan city of Sirte on Friday killing eleven guards, beheading a number of them before local forces fought back to retake control,” read a statement of the ministry yesterday.

International media reported that the kidnapped foreigners were working for the Austrian oil services company VAOS and they included four Filipinos, a Ghanaian, an Austrian and a Czech.

Local officials said the Islamic State's Libyan affiliate during the attack also beheaded eight guards on the spot.

Foreigners increasingly have become targets in the oil-rich country amid turf war between two rival governments and the rise of Islamist extremists.

But Friday's incident was the first instance of a Bangladeshi being held hostage by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, though Dhaka has not joined the alliance against the terrorist group, considering the security of millions of Bangladeshis working in the Middle East.

"Sadly, one Bangladeshi national has been taken hostage and our mission in Tripoli has launched all-out efforts to find out Helal Uddin," a senior official at the foreign ministry told The Daily Star.

The official, however, admitted that it's highly difficult for the mission in Tripoli to function or move smoothly in the turmoil of Libya.

Moreover, the government has recently appointed Major General Shahidul Islam as the ambassador to Libya and he is very new there.

According to the foreign ministry statement, Bangladesh embassy is in close contact with National Oil Company (NOC) of Libya and the Australian company VAOS. The ministry is closely monitoring the situation, it said.

Also yesterday, Helal Uddin's family expressed deep concern over the abduction and appealed to the government for steps to get him released, reported our correspondent from Jamalpur. 

Son of late Amaat Sheikh of Dakkhin Gajaria village of Adarvita union, Helal last visited his home in early 2014.

“I talked to my father over the cell phone six days ago and there was nothing wrong. After hearing the sad news through police, we are in great concern. I don't know what is waiting for him,” said his son Rubel, 13.

Helal has two sons and three daughters.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the abductees include two Bangladeshis. But it was not confirmed by the government.

The attacks in recent weeks have forced Libya to declare 11 fields, including al-Ghani non-operational.

Libya's military spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari, warned on Monday that Islamic State militants' long-term goal is to take over Libya's petroleum industry. "This is the lifeline of the Libyan people."

Four years after the ouster of Col Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is caught up in conflict between two rival factions with their armed forces fighting for the country's oil wealth.  

The chaos has allowed militants from ISIS and Ansar al-Shariah to gain a foothold in that country.

However, Bangladesh has no plan yet to repatriate the migrants from Libya.

“It is because the situation is not so bad,” an official of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry told The Daily Star yesterday.

Around two months back, some 40 foreign nationals, including three Bangladeshis, were abducted. The Bangladeshis were released after they were identified as Muslims, the official said.

During the Libyan crisis in 2011, over 36,000 Bangladeshi workers were brought back from the North African country.

According to the ministry, there are nearly 25,000 Bangladeshis working in Libya.