Rajshahi, May 11 (UNB) – Five suspected militants, including a woman, and a firefighter were killed in ‘suicide blasts’ and gunshots fired by ‘militants’ as law enforcers raided a suspected militant hideout at Matikata in Godagari upazila on Thursday morning.
The firefighter was identified as Abdul Matin, 45, while three of the ‘militants’ as house owner Sazzad Hossain, 50, his wife Beli Begum, 40, son Al Amin, 25.
During the raid, police rescued two minors — Jubayer and Apiya — from the house, said Hibjur Alam Munshi, officer-in-charge (OC) of Godagari Police Station.
The OC said: “Acting on a tip-off, Godagari police cordoned off the house early in the morning. Sensing the law enforcers’ presence, two militants came out of the house at 7:45am and detonated their explosives, leaving four people, including a woman dead on the spot.”
Two police personnel and a firefighter, Abdul Matin, suffered injuries during the operation at the suspected militant hideout, said Hibjur adding that Matin later succumbed to his wounds.
Earlier, the OC said, police requested the ‘militants’ to surrender but they did not respond. “Instead, they fired gunshots at the law enforcers,” he said.
Sazzad Hossain, a cloth trader, built the house two months back in the middle of a field, and started living there along with his two sons and two daughters, said the OC.
Sazzad’s two sons and his elder brother, Shoyeb, are local farmers, Hibjur mentioned.
Meanwhile, the local administration has imposed section 144 in the area for security reasons.
