As Bangladesh continues on its nationwide crackdown on Islamist militants, five members of a family blew themselves today morning allegedly to prevent police from invading into their terror hideout.
Before setting off the blasts in Rajshahi's Godgari area, the terror suspects speared a fireman to death. Two policemen have been also injured in the incident, bdnews24.com reported.
Police got the information about the presence of militants from intelligence, following which a team of police went in the early morning hours and surrounded the house at Benipur village, Godagiri police official Hifzul Alam Munshi said.
He further added that as they tried to storm the hideout at around 8 am, the militants came out and set off the explosions.
Five people were killed in the blasts including the house owner, his wife, daughter and two sons.
Police rescued two children, who exited the premises before the terror suspects came out.
A woman, seen sitting on the field outside the house as the raid unfolded, later surrendered. Police said she has been identified as the house owner's other daughter, mother to an 8-year old boy and 3 months-old daughter.
Intensifying anti-militancy crackdown across Bangladesh, list of nearly 5000 suspected militants was distributed to all district police chiefs by the Police Headquarters.
Recently many such ‘suicide blasts’ took place, whenever the security forces raided their hideout.
· On May 7, two suspected militants blew themselves up in "suicide blasts".
· In March, Bangladeshi police conducted a series of large-scale operations against militants, in which at least 17 suspected militants were killed.
· On March 31, eight militants blew themselves up with a grenade after the raid in the north of country’s capital Dhaka.
Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013.
Bangladesh launched a massive crackdown on militants after the Dhaka Café attack in July’2016.
The Islamic State has claimed several attacks in Bangladesh, but the government rejects the presence of foreign terrorist groups in the moderate Muslim-majority country, blaming home-grown groups such as the neo-JMB for terrorist attacks.
(PTI Inputs)
