He told a joint interrogation by police and intelligence agencies that all militant bomb blasts since August 17, including Tuesday's suicide attacks in Gazipur and Chittagong, were planned at the meetings at an Ahle Hadith mosque of Shakhipur and at the JMB hideout in the hilly area of Chittagong.

Ataur Rahman Sunny, chief of the JMB arms wing and brother of JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman, is the mastermind of all these attacks, said the sources quoting Hossain. The training on the bomb attacks was held at JMB hideouts in Tangail, Hossain said.

He, who earlier gave confusing information identifying himself once as Abul Bashar and again as Ahmad Hossain after recovering from unconscious state on Tuesday evening, also confirmed his name as Hossain Ali, sources said.

Son of one farmer Mojammel Hossain of Takerdala of Shakhipur, Tangail, and a student of Baset Khan High School, Hossain confessed that the notes recovered after the November 14 blast in Jhalakathi and Tuesday's suicidal blast in Chittagong were written by him.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Majedul Haq told reporters that besides the Chittagong suicidal blast Hossain Ali also gave important information on the blasts that took place at different places of the country.

The extracted information has been sent to the higher authority concerned while some has already been verified, he said.

"It is essential to keep him alive to get more concrete information about the JMB and its activities," said the commissioner.

ATAUR IN-CHARGE OF ALL BLASTS
During the interrogation, Hossain said Ataur Rahman Sunny planned all the bomb blasts, including the August 17 countrywide serial blasts, October bomb attacks on courts in Chittagong, Chandpur and Laxmipur, November 14 bomb attacks that left two judges dead in Jhalakathi, and the November suicidal blasts in Chittagong and Dhaka.

A frequenter to the Ahle Hadith mosque at Shakhipur, Ataur takes care of supplying explosives to the JMB cadres before the operations, Hossain told the interrogators.

It was Ataur who made all arrangements to help Hossain reach Chittagong safely, although only after the latter, imbued by the ideals of Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, agreed to carry out the attack, he said.

He claimed that he met Abdur Rahman at the Ahle Hadith mosque when Rahman visited Shakhipur some time in 1998-1999.

"The "Jehadi" speeches of Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai impressed and influenced me to join the JMB," he said.

Giving a background of Tuesday's bomb attack, Hossain said he left home saying he was going to see his sister and arrived in Dhaka by bus. From Dhaka Ataur took him to Comilla.

"In Comilla Ataur handed me a bag containing the bomb and returned to Dhaka the same day. After a few hours I boarded another bus for Chittagong," Hossain said.

At Colonel Hat under the city's Pahartoli Police Station he met another man who took him to Laldighipar area. He was then taken to Hotel Sugandha where another person named Aman booked a room for him, Hossain said.

He checked in at the hotel under the name of Hakim Ali while his companion took the name Kabir Rana. "Some JMB leaders and cadres visited us in our hotel room and gave us necessary instructions," he said.

Although Hossain had no idea about the real identity of some of the visiting JMB leaders, he said two of them might be Cox's Bazar region Mizan and bomb expert Mehedi.

Hossain and Rana left the hotel Monday morning and rented a room at Hotel Eden on the Railway Station Road.

"During our two-day stay in Chittagong, JMB cadre Taslim took us to the court building area to give us an idea about the entire court premises and adjoining areas," sources quoted the bomber as saying.

Hossain went to the old building of Bangladesh Bank adjacent to the court building at around 8:30am on Tuesday and waited for a few minutes. At 8:44am he went to the Annex Building premises and detonated the bomb as per instruction, Hossain told the investigators.

He said he has no regrets for what he has done. "My only regret is being still alive," he said.

Hossain became angry when told that he was recovered from near-death and said he does not want to be alive. "I don't need any help from anybody. My Allah will help me always," he said.

AFGHAN VETERAN HELD
Detectives on Tuesday night arrested a militant, who took part in the Afghanistan war against the invading force of the former USSR, at Bakuria in Chittagong.

Acting on a tip off, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police raided a house, Kutub Villa, on Aman Ali Road and held Joynal Abedin Kutubi.

The JMB used the house as their secret meeting place, said DB sources.

Detectives seized some books, documents on jihad and photocopies of cheques of a Pakistani bank.

Joynal told police he fought in the Afghan war.

SECURITY BEEFED UP
The authorities have meanwhile wrapped the entire city under a heavy security blanket following Tuesday's deadly suicidal bomb attack on the court building premises, setting up 53 special check posts at key points in the city.

Additional forces from the CMP, Rapid Action Battalion and other intelligence agencies were also put on high alert in different parts of the city. They were instructed to search any suspected person or vehicle, police sources said.

INJURED PERSONS OUT OF DANGER
The injured cops and civilians undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) are now out of risk, hospital sources said.

The CMCH authority is providing all medicines to the injured free of cost.