08 May, 2017
Two alleged militants were killed as members of the law enforcement launched a drive in a suspected militant hideout at Bajrapur village in Maheshpur upazila of Jhenaidah early Sunday. "An extremist was killed", Rahman said. Two police officers were also seriously injured as the militants opened fire and exploded bombs, district police chief Mizanur Rahman told reporters.
The second militant died in another suicide blast inside the building, he added.
Bangladesh has suffered a wave of attacks in recent years.
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. Militants have targeted atheist bloggers, writers, publishers and members of religious minorities.
These include a major attack on a Dhaka cafe last July, in which 22 people were killed, most of whom were foreigners.
Although numerous terrorist attacks conducted by local extremist groups in Bangladesh in the past year have been claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and al-Qaeda, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says local radical outfits, particularly the JMB, have also been responsible.
In March, Bangladeshi police conducted series of large-scale operations against militants, in which at least 17 suspected militants were killed.
