Nine Suspected Militants Killed in Dhaka Raid

Local Editor

Police in Bangladesh said they killed at least nine suspected militants in a raid on their hideout in the capital, Dhaka.

Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Masud Ahmed said a "two-hour gunfight" erupted between officers and the suspects, who were hiding in a building in the capital.

Security forces also arrested one of the men, who had sustained injuries in the scuffles. The suspected militants were reportedly planning to conduct a large-scale terrorist attack in the country.

Meanwhile, an investigation is underway to determine which group they belonged to.

Reports stated that the men were wearing signature black robes of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri "ISIS" group], which claimed a series of terror attacks in the Asian country in recent months.

However, officials said evidence showed they were members of local banned group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen [JMB].

National police Chief A.K.M Shahidul Haque said the nine killed in Tuesday's raid had no links with Daesh.

The Bangladeshi government blamed the JMP for an attack on the Gulshan café in Dhaka that killed at least 20 civilians, including foreigners, early this month. This is while Daesh claimed responsibility for the fatal assault.

In all, police arrested more than 11,000 suspects in a major crackdown on militants since mid-July.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team