Restriction imposed on public movement as Bangladesh police raid three militant hideouts

The Bangladesh authorities have imposed restriction on movement of vehicles and pedestrians around three terror hideouts in parts of the country which are now under siege by the security forces.

Security forces have surrounded two buildings in the country's Moulvibazar district, about 200 km north-east of capital Dhaka, since early Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, police in Bangladesh's eastern Comilla district, some 92 km away of capital Dhaka, cordoned off a building, suspecting presence of militants.

A Home Ministry official in Dhaka told Xinhua that the government decided to impose restriction movement of vehicles and pedestrians around the terror hideouts for the sake of local residents' security,

The official who did not like to be named said the restriction has also been imposed as militants were hurling grenades at police at intervals from their Moulvibazar dens, where eight to 10 militants were suspected of being holed up.

Kamrul Ahsan, a senior police official, told journalists at Moulvibazar that they are still not sure how much explosives are in the hideouts.

Bursts of gunfire and explosions reportedly could be heard from the two houses since early Wednesday morning after police sealed off the houses.

Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told journalists in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon that 10 suspected militants may be holed up inside the Moulvibazar hideouts.

He said a team of SWAT (Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Special Weapon and Tactic Team) is already on its way to Moulvibazar and the army will be called in if needed.

However, security forces had cordoned off the suspected militant hideout in Comilla on Wednesday afternoon.

No further details were immediately available about the raid in Commilla.

The raids came just a day after Bangladesh Army commandos ended an operation codenamed "Operation Twilight" in Moulvibazar's neighboring Sylhet city.

The assault by army commandos on the militant hideout in the Sylhet city, some 240 km northeast of capital Dhaka has ended, killing four militants holed up there.

With the recovery of bodies of four militants from the hideout, the death toll in the operation stood at 10 as six people, including two policemen, were killed and dozens of others injured in two explosions on Saturday in the outer cordon of the siege.

The Islamic State (IS) reportedly claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Security has been tightened in Bangladesh after militants attacked a Spanish cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan on July 1 last year which killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.

Source: Xinhua