The nationwide police action started on Thursday, two days after a retired army official’s son and his cohort were arrested for attacking police in Comilla. Terming the raids a continuous process against militancy, police headquarters special task group chief Md Moniruzzaman, said the crackdown will continue until March 19. In the first two days, 19 suspected members of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and one each belonging to Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh, Allahr Dal and another extremist group were arrested. On the third day, 27 more people with their alleged links to militancy were arrested. Later, acting on the information the two had divulged, police discovered a militant hideout in Chittagong’s Mirsarai upazila, seizing a huge cache of explosives and bomb-making material.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 12, 2017 19:21 UTC