- 7 militants killed in Patartek of Gazipur

- 2 killed in Harinal of Gazipur

- 2 killed in Tangail town

- Akash, who led the Neo-JMB after Tamim’s death, among deceased

Eleven militants were killed in three separate anti-militant raids in Gazipur and Tangail today.

Among them, nine were killed in Patartek and Harinal area in Gazipur city while two others in Tangail town.

GAZIPUR

In Patartek, seven militants were killed when a joint team of police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) conducted a raid at a two-storey house.

Tipped-off, the law enforcers cordoned off the house around 10:00am as the militants were staying there, police said.

The law enforcers, using a loudspeaker, asked the militants to surrender before them but the latter traded gunfire ignoring the call, said Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

The joint team then conducted the raid in the house around 11:45am, triggering a gunfight that left seven militants dead on the spot, he said.

One Akash, who is among the dead, led the Neo JMB’s Dhaka city unit after the death of Tamim Chowdhury, who was killed during a raid earlier in Narayanganj, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said while addressing media at the spot.

Identities of others could not be ascertained immediately.

Militants rented the building owned by a Saudi expatriate Suleiman Sarkar about three months back, locals were quoted as saying.

In Harinal, two alleged militants were killed in another raid with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

Mizanur Rahman Bhuyan, senior assistant superintendent of police of Rab-1, confirmed the deaths of two militants in the "shootout" to The Daily Star.

The killed “militants” are Touhidul Islam and Rashed Mia, both hailing from Narsingdi, said Rab-1 legal and media director Mufti Mahmud Khan quoting the house owner.

Law enforcers found the two bodies in one of the units of the house, Mahiul Alam, assistant superintendant of police of Rab-1, told our Gazipur correspondent.

An AK-47 rifle, dozens of bullets, bomb-making explosive substances, four laptops, three machetes and a laminating machine were also recovered from the house, the Rab official said.

Recovered items made them suspect that more people might have been living in the unit, Mufti Mahmud Khan said.

Acting on a tip-off that a divisional commander of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was staying at the house, law enforcers raided it, Sanwar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of DMP, told The Daily Star.

A large number of Rab officials and police cordoned off the building in Lebubagan area since 7:00am, our Gazipur correspondent reports quoting Khandakar Rezaul Hasssan Reza, officer-in-charge of Joydevpur Police Station.

Around 150 law enforcers including local policemen were present at the scene, the correspondent said.

The law enforcers asked the onlookers to move to safe distance.

The single-floor house constructed recently was rented out a month ago, locals said.

Ataur Rahman, owner of the building, does not live in the house, said Fazila Khatun, a neighbour.

TANGAIL

Two suspected militants were killed in another gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) during a raid at a house in Kagmara area of Tangail town this morning.

Identities of the deceased, aged between 20 and 25, could not be known immediately, reports our Tangail correspondent quoting Rab.

On information that subversive activities might be carried out in the locality during Durga Puja and Ashura, a Rab team conducted the raid at a three-storey building near Mirza Maath, the correspondent reports quoting Rab-12 Commander Additional Deputy Inspector General Md Shahabuddin Khan.

Rab men along with the house owner, Azharul Islam Khan, went to the ground floor of the house around 10:30am that the alleged militants rented on September 27, he said.

Sensing presence of the law enforcers, one of the militants reportedly shoved Mohammad Mohiuddin Faruque, commander of crime prevention company-3 of Rab-12 who led the operation.

At one stage, they opened fire on Rab personnel prompting them to retaliate which triggered the “gunfight”.

The bodies were still inside the room, Shahabuddin said.

“We assume that there may be explosive substances and ammunition inside the room,” he said.

“We will conduct operation inside the building systematically to avert any explosion,” the Rab official added.

A soldier and a corporal of the elite force received injuries in the drive, he said.