Operation at Savar militant dens ends

Staff Correspondent, Savar: The operation conducted by law enforcers at two suspected militant hideouts in Namagenda area of Savar, on the outskirts of the capital, ended on Saturday with the recovery of seven grenades and three suicide vests from the hideouts.

Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman, superintendent of police in Dhaka, declared the end of the operation at a press briefing around 3:30pm.

Police could not make any arrest during the operation but they recovered bomb-manufacturing materials, jihadi books and laptop except grenades and suicide vests from there, the police official said.

Police cordoned off a six-story building and a two-storey building in the area suspecting those as militant hideouts on Friday.

A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) along with Dhaka police cordoned off the six-story building around 10:00pm on Friday.

Police could not launch their final operation yesterday as the night descended.

Around 10:45am today, the law enforcers resumed their operation after a bomb disposal unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) reached the spot and entered the hideout.

Soon after the arrival of the bomb disposal unit at the spot, sounds of explosion were heard inside the militant den in Savar.

After a while, sounds were heard two more times back to back. However, it was not immediately known whether someone fell in the casualty.

The law enforcers found a suicidal vest and bomb making ingredients from a room of the second floor on the under construction six-storey building while another room was found locked.

Later, the CTTC members detained a woman and rescued two children from the ground floor of the house.

Police also raided the five-storey building on Friday evening before they cordoned off the six-storey building. However, police could not find militants or explosive there.

risingbd/Savar/May 27, 2017/Safiul Islam Sakib/Amirul