Four suspected militants killed, 20 people rescued after raid on Chittagong 'terror den'

Four suspected militants have died after security forces raided a hideout in Chittagong.

Mostofa Yousuf, Chittagong Bureaubdnews24.com
Published : 16 March 2017, 05:10 AM
Updated : 16 March 2017, 10:12 AM

Police said at least two of them blew themselves up in 'suicide explosions' and two others were shot by law enforcers.

There was a woman among those killed as police rounded off the 19-hour siege on a two-storey building at Sitakunda Upazila town on Thursday morning.

The identities of those killed are yet to be ascertained and announced.

But intelligence says they belonged to the Jama'at-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the group responsible for a string of attacks including the attack on an upscale Dhaka restaurant in July last year, when 20 diners, mostly foreigners were killed.

Earlier on Thursday, police said at least two militants died when they set off 'suicide explosions' to thwart a police assault on the building, believed to be a hideout of the banned Islamist outfit JMB.

"So far, we have found four bodies. Two of them were wearing suicide vests and died in the blast and two others died when hit by police bullets. There's no one else inside," police's Chittagong Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shafiqul Islam told the media near the spot around 10am.

He said that three policemen have been injured after grenades were lobbed from inside while a firefighter has been injured while cutting iron grills of windows.

DIG Islam said the raid has ended, but bomb experts were working inside the building.

"We have found a huge amount of explosives in the apartment used by the militants. There were more on the roof. The operation has ended, but the bomb disposal units are working to secure the building."

Police have rescued 20 persons of three families, including women and children, who were stuck in other apartments of the building along with the terrorists during the stand-off since Wednesday afternoon.

"Several attempts were taken to bring them out during the night, but we failed. We once again moved to rescue them after the suicide blast in the morning. They were brought out by breaking the iron grills on the windows," said the senior officer Islam.

He said they suspect the four killed belonged to the 'Neo JMB'. "There are several infrastructure projects going on around the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, where a lot of foreign nationals are involved. The grenades and explosives may have been stocked for attacks targeting them."

The blast was reported after police mounted the assault on the hideout in the morning after sealing-off the building since Wednesday afternoon.

DIG Islam said two terrorists blew themselves up when they found police making their way through the roof of the building.

Around 6am in the morning, police started firing at the hideout when the militants lobbed grenades setting off powerful explosions in quick succession.

bdnews24.com's Mostofa Yousuf reported from the scene that police fired continuously for seven to eight at one stage and the inmates retaliated with as many explosions that shook up the area.

An ambulance could be seen moving out of the compound after police firing and the explosions.

It was not clear whether the ambulance was carrying anyone.

Personnel from the counter-terrorism unit and SWAT joined the RAB and the Chittagong police in the operation on 'Chaya Nir', the two-storey building in Chowdhurypara of Siktakunda town's Premtala area.

Police sealed-off the building after arresting a couple with arms and explosives from another 'hideout' in Sitakunda town on Wendesday afternoon.

When inmates of 'Chaya Nir' lobbed grenades injuring a policeman, the law enforcers encircled the house to ensure no one could escape from there.

Intermittent exchange of fire between security forces and the inmates of the house were reported on several occasions throughout the night.

How it unfolded

It all started with a fake national ID card submitted by a terror suspect to his landlord.

'Jashim' had identified himself as an apparel trader, when he had rented a flat at a two-storey building at the town's Amirabad area on Feb 27.

On Wednesday, landlord Subhas Chandra Das asked him to move out when the ID card Jashim submitted turned out to be a fake.

Jashim refused to move out, when the police intervened and found arms, explosives in the flat.

Jashim and his wife 'Arjina' were arrested. Police said they belonged to the militant group 'the Neo JMB'

“The two are members of the JMB (Jama’atul Islam Mujahideen). We found suicide vests, pistols and a lot of raw ingredients for making bombs in the flat,” said Mohang Shafikul Islam, police deputy inspector general at Chittagong range.

The information they divulged led to the raid on the building named 'Chhaya Nir', located at Choudhuryparha of Premtala, the neighbouring ward.

Around 4pm, police cordoned off the two-storey building, when a grenade was lobbed from inside which left local police's Inspector Mozammel Haque injured.

Sitakunda police OC Iftekhar Hasan took the lead and sealed off the house. Several grenades were hurled from inside during the operation, which forces the police to open fire.

Around 6:30pm, a SWAT unit from Chittagong joined them.  Later a strike team from Dhaka, including members from counter-terrorism unit the SWAT, bomb disposal units and members of the Lawful Interception Cell (LIC) from the police headquarters arrived at the scene.

Senior counter-terrorism officer Sanwar Hossain led the strike team. The additional deputy commissioner successfully took part in several anti-terror operations in different parts of the country.

Chittagong's Additional Superintendent of Police Moshiuddohla Reza said the preparations to approach the building started after the strike team's arrival.

Meanwhile, police managed to establish contact with the families stuck in other apartments of the building. They wanted to evacuate, but police asked them take cover inside their homes for security reasons.

Operation 'Assault 16'

Around 6am on Thursday, security forces initiated 'Operation Assault 16'. Police started firing at the building when the militants lobbed grenades setting off powerful explosions in quick succession.

Mediapersons at the scene said police fired continuously for seven to eight minutes at one stage with as many blasts being heard.

At one stage, a loud explosion shook up the area.

An ambulance was seen moving out of the compound carrying two SWAT members soon after the firing and blasts.

Around 10am, the raid ended, when DIG Shafikul Islam told the media that SWAT members tried to enter the building through the roof.

"As soon as the SWAT members landed on the roof, two men, with suicide vests on them, came shouting 'Allahu Akbar.'

"The SWAT members opened fire when they realised the two were about blow the vests rigged with explosives. One of them fell on the ground after being shot while the other managed to explode his vest," said the Chittagong Range police chief.  

He said the four died during the assault, included a woman-- two of them died in the suicide blast while others died when hit by police bullets.

Senior counter-terrorism officer Sanwat Hossain told bdnews24.com those who have died in the blast could not be identified as the bodies were completely damaged.

Police activities in Chittagong have been heightened recently after bombs were hurled on policemen at a highway check post in Comilla, when police arrested the two attackers.

Mahmudul Hasan, one of the suspects arrested in Comilla, was taken on a police raid the same night.

The operation on a house at Mirsarai Upazila town led to the discovery of 29 hand bombs, nine machetes, 280 packets of bearing balls and 40 packs of explosives gel.

Since then, there have been ‘block raids’ in the port city and other parts of the district to gather information on people living in rented houses, said Chittagong Superintendent of Police Noor-e-Alam Mina. 

[bdnews24.com's Liton Haider and Golam Mujtaba Dhruba in Dhaka have provided inputs for this report]