Bangladeshi forces kill militant carrying explosives

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh police shot dead a suspected militant in the capital Dhaka on Saturday, March 18, a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security forces camp.

The man was killed as he tried to cross a security roadblock on a motorbike carrying a bag with improvised explosive devices, according to Mufti Mahmud Khan, spokesman for the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

“As he was carrying explosives we primarily suspect him of being a militant,” Khan told Agence France-Presse, adding that further investigation was needed to ascertain his identity.

A bomb disposal unit was rushed to the spot where it recovered the biker’s bag containing multiple small improvised bombs, which were later diffused, Khan said.

According to local RAB commander Tuhin Mohammad Masud, the suspected attacker was in his early twenties.

The latest incident comes after a man blew himself up at a RAB camp near Dhaka’s international airport, on Friday, March 17, wounding two policemen, in an apparent botched suicide attack.

Dhaka beefed up security at all airports after Friday’s attack, one of the first in recent years against the elite RAB force which is tasked with tackling militancy.

Bangladesh has seen a spate of deadly attacks recently on foreigners, writers, and activists.

The country’s security forces launched a nationwide crackdown on Islamist extremists following a siege at a cafe in Dhaka last year, arresting scores of suspects.

The ISIS group claimed responsibility for that attack, in which 22 people including 18 foreign hostages were killed.

The government has denied the presence of ISIS in the country and blames local extremists. – Rappler.com