Seven suspected militants killed after counter-terrorism unit raids Gazipur hideout

Seven suspected militants have been gunned down on Saturday in a raid by the counter-terrorism unit on a house in Gazipur.

This house was barely half a kilometre from another house earlier raided by RAB, from where two deaths have been reported.

The raid by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raid started early on Saturday at Harinal area under Gazipur City Corporation.

Later, the Dhaka police's counter-terrorism unit began a raid at Afarkhola area around 10:45am.

Senior counter-terrorism officer Sanowar Hossain confirmed the death of seven people to bdnews24.com in the afternoon.

The men, who are yet to be identified, are aged between 17 and 25 years, said Deputy Police Commissioner Hossain.

Police said they have found some firearms in the two storey-building, where the militants were holed up.

The building is owned by an expatriate living in Saudi Arabia, Soleman Sarkar. His brother madrasa teacher Osman Gani was in charge of the house.

Three months ago, the first floor was rented out to three men, who, the police suspect, were militants.

Before the raid started, police officer Hossain told bdnews24.com they received a tip-off about the presence 'Neo-JMB’ Dhaka region commander 'Akash' in that location.

Counter-terrorism unit chief Monirul Islam told reporters at the spot, when the raid was underway, that the residents of the ground floor had been evacuated safely. "They responded to our appeal to surrender with gunfire, forcing us to retaliate."

Gazipur's Joydebpur Police Station OC Rezaul Hasan said before the counter-terrorism unit started their raid, the RAB raided a house in Harinal area.

RAB-1 Deputy Commander Kazi Md Soyab Hossain told bdnews24.com their raid started in the morning, targeting a one-storey building at Lebubagan neighbourhood on a tip-off.

Around 11:30am, RAB spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan confirmed the death of two persons to bdnews24.com.

He said the landlord has identified the two as 20-year-old 'Rashedul,' and 22-year-old Touhidul Islam, a student of the Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET).

RAB said they have found an AK-22 assault rifle, a pistol, ammunition, explosives and a laptop.

Meanwhile, in Tangail, two suspected militants were killed when RAB raided a suspected militant hideout at a village near the district town.

Several suspected militants have been killed in raids in the capital and Narayanganj after the terror attacks at an upscale Dhaka cafe and Bangladesh's largest Eid congregation in Kishoreganj's Sholakia in July.

On Saturday, nine suspected militants died during separate raids on two hideouts in Gazipur and two others at Tangail.