Eleven suspected militants were killed in
separate operations conducted by police and Rapid Action Battalion
(Rab) members in Gazipur and Tangail districts on Saturday.
Tipped off, a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime
(CTTC) unit, Special Weapon and Tactics Team(SWAT) and district
police launched an operation at a den in a two-storey building in
Patartek area in Gazipur around 12:00 am.
“The law enforcers first asked the militants to surrender but they
didn’t respond to their call. Then they opened fire on the militants
who also fired back. The three-hour gunfight left seven militants
dead,” said Home Minister ASsaduzzaman Khan at a press briefing after
the operation.
The seven ‘militants’ included Neo JMB military commander Akash and
four madrassha students, he said.
The minister said the operations have been successful as common
people came forward to assist the law enforcers.
Earlier, two alleged militants — Tawhidul Islam, 22, and Rashedul
Islam, 22, –were killed in a reported gunfight during a raid on a
‘militant den’ by members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Harinal
area of the city in the morning.
Assistant superintendent of police Mahiul Islam, deputy director of
Rab’s Porabari camp, said a team of the elite force cordoned off a
one-storey building, owned by Ataur Rahman, in the area early in the
morning following information that it was being used as a militant
den.
When the law enforcers tried to enter the building, the militants
opened fire on them, prompting them to retaliate that triggered a
gunfight.
Half an hour after the gunfight, the elite force recovered the bodies
of Tawhidul and Rashedul from the house.
They also recovered one AK-22 rifle, one pistol, 70 bullets and some
bomb-making explosive substances and a laptop from the den, said
Mahiul Islam
In Tangail, two alleged militants were killed in a joint operation by
police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Kagmara area of the
district town in the morning.
The deceased could not yet be identified.
Acting on a tip that a gang of militants is there at a house in
Kagmara area, a team of joint force conducted a drive there around
11pm, said Mahbub Alam, superintendent of Tangail police.
Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the militants opened fire on
them. As the law enforcers retaliated, it triggered a gunfight,
leaving the two ‘militants’ dead on the spot and two others injured. –Dhaka, Oct 8 (UNB)
