DAHAKA: Bangladesh police came under grenade attack when they raided two suspected Islamist extremist hideouts on Wednesday, days after a major anti-militant drive in which 10 people were killed.
Police said counter-terrorism officers raided two houses in Moulvibazar district in the northeast after receiving a tip-off that extremists were sheltering there.
A stand-off ensued, with those inside the houses throwing grenades, local police chief Rashedul Islam told AFP.
“In one of the houses, we suspect there are eight to nine of them,” he said, adding the houses were owned by a Bangladeshi-origin British citizen.
The raids came after army commandos stormed a five-story building in the nearby city of Sylhet, triggering a violent three-day stand-off.
At least four extremists died and another six people including two police officers were killed when two bombs went off on Saturday near a crowd watching the operation.
The Daesh group claimed the twin bomb attacks but the government has rejected the claim, instead blaming a banned homegrown Islamist organization.
There has been a resurgence of extremist attacks in recent weeks in the Muslim-majority nation of 160 million after a relative lull since five IS-linked gunmen killed 22 people including 18 foreign hostages at a Dhaka cafe on July 1.
IS has also claimed at least two of three other incidents this month in which attackers blew themselves at security checkpoints, including one targeting an elite security force tasked with tackling Islamist militancy.
Analysts say Islamist militants pose a growing danger in conservative Bangladesh, where a long-running political crisis has radicalized opponents of the government.
Bangladesh prides itself on being a mainly moderate Muslim country. But that perception has been damaged by a series of gruesome killings of atheist bloggers, foreigners and religious minorities.
Since the cafe attack, security forces have launched a nationwide crackdown on Islamist extremist groups, killing around 60 suspected militants.
These include the founders of a new faction of the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has been blamed by authorities for most attacks.
Grenade attack as Bangladesh police raid Islamist hideout
Grenade attack as Bangladesh police raid Islamist hideout
Russian soldiers ‘helped to repel Niger airport attack’
- Niger’s junta accused Benin, France and Ivory Coast of sponsoring the attack on the airport, which also houses a military base
MOSCOW: Russian soldiers helped to repel an attack on Niger’s main airport in the capital Niamey last week which was claimed by Daesh militants, Moscow said on Monday.
Niger’s ruling junta earlier said “Russian partners” helped to fend off the rare assault on the capital, which saw 20 attackers killed and four army
soldiers wounded.
“The attack was repelled through the joint efforts of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s African Corps and the Nigerien armed forces,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
BACKGROUND
Niger’s ruling junta earlier said ‘Russian partner’ helped to fend off the rare assault on the capital, which saw 20 attackers killed and four army soldiers wounded.
“Moscow strongly condemns this latest extremist attack,” it added.
Daesh said it staged the attack and released a video of events through its propaganda agency Amaq. The video shows several dozen attackers with assault rifles firing near a hangar and setting ablaze one plane before leaving on motorbikes.
Niger’s junta accused Benin, France and Ivory Coast of sponsoring the attack on the airport, which also houses a military base.
Junta chief Abdourahamane Tiani visited the Russian military base to express “personal gratitude for a high level of professionalism,” the ministry said.
Russia rarely comments on its military activity in the Sahel region, where Moscow has been increasing its influence in a region that has seen a series of coups.
Facing isolation since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has tried to build new military and political partnerships in Africa.
Apart from Niger, Russian troops or military instructors have been reported to be deployed in Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and Libya.
Russia’s African Corps has taken over from the Wagner paramilitary group across the continent.
According to Moscow, the corps helps “fighting terrorists” and “strengthening regional stability” in the Sahel.
