Police raids militant hideout in Bangladesh

Dhaka March 24 (IANS) Bangladesh police on Friday cordoned off a building in the country s Sylhet city suspecting presence of militants.

According to a police official law enforcers had surrounded the five-storied building since Thursday.

Several gunshots and explosions were heard from the spot. Law enforcers retaliated after a grenade was hurled towards them from the house Xinhua news agency reported.

According to police the militants rented a flat in the building three months ago.

The raid came days after four militants were killed when the law enforcers stormed a militant hideout in Sitakunda on the outskirts of Chittagong.

Since the Holy Artisan Bakery attack here law enforcers have gone tough against Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) which is blamed for the July 1 last year attack.

At least 20 hostages mostly foreigners were killed in the attack.

--IANS
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