Blasts kill six as Bangladesh commandos storm militant hideout

Published March 25, 2017
Bangladesh Army's armoured car takes part in an operation to storm a militant hideout. -AFP
Bangladesh Army's armoured car takes part in an operation to storm a militant hideout. -AFP
Bangladesh Army commandos take part in an operation. -AFP
Bangladesh Army commandos take part in an operation. -AFP

Two explosions ripped through a crowd Saturday, killing six people and injuring 50 in Bangladesh's northeastern city of Sylhet where army commandos stormed an militant hideout, police said.

The “powerful” blasts went off some 400 yards from the hideout, targeting police and hundreds of onlookers who were witnessing the commandos conducting an anti-militant operation at a five-storey apartment building, police said.

“At least four people including a policeman were killed,” Sylhet police spokesman Zedan Al Musa told AFP, adding 42 people including about a dozen police and security officers were injured.

“Conditions of several people are critical,” Atiqul Islam, an emergency doctor at Sylhet Medical College Hospital told AFP.

Musa said police primarily suspect a new faction of the homegrown extremist group, Jamayetul ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which has been blamed for a wave of attacks in recent years, for the the blasts.

Bangladeshi army commandos stand next to an armoured vehicle during an operation to storm a militant hideout. -AFP
Bangladeshi army commandos stand next to an armoured vehicle during an operation to storm a militant hideout. -AFP

Police could not confirm whether whether it was a suicide blast. “It occurred in the dark when there was no electricity,” Musa said.

The blasts occurred hours after the commandos rescued “78 civilian hostages” from the hideout where several militants were holed up in a ground-floor apartment.

“So far what we've done, our main task was to rescue the hostages, which we have done successfully. We were able to rescue all 78 people safely,” army spokesman Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters.

He said the militants were still inside the apartment building where they “set up barricades” by “laying IEDs” in many rooms and stairs.

“As a result the whole operation is being conducted carefully,” he said.

30-hour standoff

The commandos backed by armoured personnel carriers launched the operation after a more than 30-hour standoff that began early Friday morning when police sealed off the building as militants detonated small bombs.

The spokesman could not say how many militants were in the building, but police said there were at least two including a woman.

“They are Islamist extremists,” police spokesman Musa said.

Police used loudspeakers to ask the militants to surrender, but they refused to give up, Musa said.

The raid came after a series of suicide attacks on security camps by militants this month including one at a police checkpoint near the country's main international airport on Friday night.

Two of the three attacks, including Friday's blast in which the suicide attacker was killed, were claimed by the militant Islamic State group.

This month a police elite unit also stormed a building outside the port city of Chittagong, killing four members of the homegrown militant group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) including one woman.

IS has claimed responsibility for a wave of killings since 2015 including for a major attack on a Dhaka cafe last year in which 22 people, including 18 foreign hostages, were killed.

The Bangladeshi government denies IS has any presence in the country, arguing instead that a new faction of JMB was behind that and other attacks.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...