Gunshots erupt after six hours of lull; commandos rescue 78 civilians from Sylhet terror dugout

After around six hours of a relative lull, gunshots have again been heard from inside the heavily cordoned area where army commandos are conducting an operation to uproot the militant dugout in Sylhet.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 25 March 2017, 12:22 PM
Updated : 26 March 2017, 06:02 AM

It is not clear who fired the shots as media people, and curious onlookers are kept over a kilometre away from the epicentre of commando operations.

"The shots were fired again at around 12:30am on Sunday," bdnews24.com Sylhet Correspondent Manjur Ahmed said from near the scene. The last exchange of fire and blasts at the den were heard after 6pm on Saturday.

It turns out to be a test of nerve for both sides as the siege is now two-day long while the commando operations enter the 20th hour.

Army officials said that rescuing the civilians from those buildings, and their safety are the top priority, and they want to avoid collateral damage. 

Meanwhile, in two separate blasts at one end of the street to the terror den at Shibbarhi on the outskirts of the city, at least six people, including two police officials, were killed at around 7pm.  

It was not immediately clear whether the blasts were bomb attacks carried out in support of the militants holed up in the den.

The army commandos started their offensive against unidentified Islamist militants at 9am on Saturday.

There was no official comment on whether any of the militants were captured or killed at the den. An army spokesperson said in the evening that the "operation is not over yet".

The commandos have rescued 78 civilians stranded inside the buildings from which the suspected militants exchanged fire with the law enforcers.

Nine hours after the army launched 'Operation Twilight' to storm a five-storied building at Shibbarhi on the outskirts of the city, an army spokesperson said that the operation has not ended.

Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahasan told the media at the scene that militants were still inside the building and that the commandos' assault was continuing.

He, however, could not spell out clearly how long it would take to finish the raid.

Brig Gen Ahasan said that their initial objective was to rescue the civilians stranded in the building for more than 30 hours. "We have succeeded on that. A total of 78 people has been evacuated safely."

The army officer added that the army commandos were storming the building inside which the militants were frequently changing places.

In reply to a query about the blasts, Ahasan said the militants charged IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) on the troop.

Asked when the operation will end, he said the commander of the operation would take the decision.

After the briefing, 30 men, 27 women and 21 children, came out of a nearby building where they were taken after being rescued.

Troops from the Para-Commando Battalion began the assault to round off the siege to the complex housing two buildings -- a five-storey and a four-storey.

Thirty minutes before the assault media persons and others in the area were asked to move at least a kilometre away from the complex and utility connections to buildings were cut off.

Intense exchanges of fire interspersed with intermittent explosions could be heard in phases from the spot throughout the raid.

No details were available throughout the day as no one from the army or the law enforcement agencies spoke to the media after the assault began.

Around 5:45pm, an army officer told the media that a briefing would be held shortly.

The army took charge of the operations in the morning after a second commando team arrived at the scene.

Until 2pm, gunfire was heard twice from the scene, but the exchanges of fire intensified afterwards, and explosions rocked the area.

At least eight explosions were heard between 2pm and 3pm. Police officers outside the complex said the loud explosions could be grenades that the militants may have lobbed.

Three injured soldiers were seen being carried away for medical treatment around 2:30am.

The continued blasts and gunshots stopped after 3pm. Bursts of gunfire could be heard for the next two hours.

Two blasts were heard around 5pm and were followed by continuous firing, which lasted for the next 40 minutes, and then stopped.

It was then that an army officer came to the media and said that a briefing would be held.

Around 6:30pm, Brig Gen Ahasan briefed the media on the assault, when he said that it has not ended.