Statements on the attack

Sudden rise in terrorist attacks in Dhaka

A suicide bomber was killed as he attempted to attack a police check post at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport intersection in Dhaka at 8pm Friday. Assistant Commissioner of Police (airport) Ruhul Amin Sagor said that a suicide bomber had attempted to attack the police box overlooking the intersection. [caption id="attachment_54395" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Police have cordoned off the site[/caption] He confirmed that the attacker had been killed. Airport police station Officer-in-Charge Nur-e-Azam Mia said that three to four persons had suffered minor injuries in the blast. The attacker, an adult man dressed in jeans and a shirt, tried to blow up the outpost with explosives in his pocket or tied around his waist. [arve url="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsomoynews.tv%2Fvideos%2F1288673197892421%2F&show_text=0&width=560"/] The explosion ripped through the right side of his waist and left a gory mess. After around two hours, international terrorist group Islamic State in a statement via its Arabic Amaq news agency claimed that one of its supporters had "carried out a suicide attack on a police check post near the airport." IS’ Bangla website at-Tamkin also made the same claim.Later the website published the organisational name of the suicide attacker, Abu Muhammad al-Bangali, but falsely claimed that he had been able to kill several policemen and injure some others at a check post. Police could not confirm his identity immediately. It is the second attack claimed by IS in a week and 28th since September 2015. The government claims that IS has no organisational base in Bangladesh and that local militants linked to a new faction of banned outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB or Neo JMB) were behind the attacks. Salauddin, a tea seller who witnessed the scene, said that he had heard a loud explosion around 7:45pm. He said: "I turned around and found a man's mangled body lying on the street in front of the police box."Another witness, a law enforcer seeking anonymity, said that he had been inside the police box along with three other law enforcers when the bomb exploded. He said: "It was just after the evening call to prayer when I heard a loud bang which shattered the glass windows of the police box. [arve url="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sbd!4v1490367658320!6m8!1m7!1soR2B2Xxw6Ex090JFdMrlXA!2m2!1d23.85019324161303!2d90.40896268020316!3f341.54660780503445!4f3.3738433028375425!5f1.5391731148094197"/] "It was only by the sheer grace of Allah that we are alive," he said, looking dishevelled with his hands still trembling from the shock. He further said he had seen the bomber loiter in front of the police box. The bomber was not carrying anything in his hands, but looked like a drug addict to the witness. [caption id="attachment_54407" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Police are strictly forbidding reporters to sneak a peek at the gory carcass of the attacker at Dhaka airport on March 24, 2017[/caption] Ripon, a driver who also witnessed the incident, said: "I saw the man walking towards the assistant police commissioner's booth by the police box. "In the airport area, the offices of the assistant police commissioner and the traffic inspector are always open for easy access. The explosion occurred just before he was about to enter the booth." The Bomb Disposal Unit of the police was working to defuse bombs found inside the attacker's luggage. Around midnight, Airport OC Nur-e-Azam said that they had found three bombs in the luggage, and that those would be defused.Rashed Khan Menon, minister for civil aviation and tourism, said that the incident would have no impact on the day-to-day operations of the airport. DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia briefed reporters around 9:20pm. He said that it might not have been a suicide attack, but a lethal slip when the terrorist had been spooked out and detonated the bombs early. He further added that the police would circulate the attacker's photo on social media for identification. Rezaul Karim, public relations officer of the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh told the Dhaka Tribune that no additional security measures would be required at the airport since extra precautions had already been in place after the attack on a RAB barrack in Ashkona on March 17. DB Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Nazmul Alam said that the police had collected fingerprints of the attacker, and hoped he would soon be identified.The suicide attack comes exactly a week after another bomb attack on the Rapid Action Battalion camp at Ashkona, barely half a kilometre away from the check post. Islamic State took credit for the attack that injured two RAB personnel. The next day, on March 18, a man tried to force his way through a RAB check post in Khilgaon where he was gunned down after refusing to comply with orders to stand down. Law enforcers found bombs on his person. The attacks have taken place amid countrywide anti-militant drive by different law enforcement agencies.