Two police officials killed as death toll rises to six in Sylhet blasts; dozens injured

At least six people, including two police officials, have been killed and over 40 others injured in two separate explosions that occurred in the area where the army commandos have cornered a group of unidentified militants holed up in a dugout in Sylhet.

It was not clear whether the blasts were bomb attacks carried out in support of the militants cornered by the army commandos in a militant dugout in Shibbarhi.

It looks like planned explosions as the maximum casualties came from the second bomb that exploded when the security forces rushed to the scene of the first explosion.

Middle East-based radical group Islamic State has reportedly claimed that it is responsible for "a bombing on Bangladeshi forces in Sylhet".

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Zedan Al Musa confirmed the death toll to bdnews24.com early on Sunday.

Of those seriously wounded include RAB Intelligence chief who has been airlifted to Dhaka for better treatment.

The law enforcers killed in the blasts at Pathanbarhi are court police Inspector Chowdhury Mohammad Koysor and Jalalabad Police Station Inspector Monirul Islam.

Both of them were members of police's bomb disposal unit, said Jalalabad Police Station OC Akhter Hossain.

Three other deceased people have been identified as Bangladesh Chhatra League's local leader Jannatul Fahim, college student Ohidul Islam Opu, and Shahidul Islam, a resident of the area.

The other deceased person could not be identified. He was estimated to be around 35 years old.

One of the injured persons, Gulzar Ahmed, told bdnews24.com at the hospital that some onlookers stopped a person carrying a black polythene bag.

"The blast occurred just after he said that there was red spinach in the bag. Five to six people were injured in the explosion," he said.

"Another large explosion occurred when police and RAB rushed to the scene. Around 25 people were injured in the second blast," he added.

Witnesses earlier said two people riding a motorcycle 'carried out an explosion' at one end of the street where the militant hideout is located.

It seems these were 'reinforcement' came for the militants who are cornered by the army commandos in a hideout where the operation is about to be in its final stage.

Additional Commissioner of Sylhet city police Rukon Uddin told bdnews24.com that Opu, a third-year BBA student of Madanmohan College, died on the spot in the explosions at Pathanparha in Shibbarhi on the outskirts of Sylhet city at around 7pm on Saturday.

Koysor died while being treated with other injured people at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital. OC Akhter said Inspector Monirul died at the hospital at around 1:50am on Sunday.

The injured people included RAB Intelligence Wing chief Lt Col Abul Kalam Azad, Major 'Azad' of RAB-9, and South Surma Police Station OC Harunur Rashid.

The RAB intelligence chief underwent several surgeries at the Sylhet hospital and was transferred to Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital after midnight.

Of the other injured people, 17 were being treated at the Sylhet hospital. They have been identified as Mostaq Ahmed, 'Nazimuddin', Romel Ahmed, Ohidul Islam, Islam Ahmed, Nurul Alam, Biplob Hossain, Abdur Rahim, Sattar Uddin, Rahim Mia, Hossain Ahmed, Mamun Ahmed, Faruq Mia, Salauddin Shipar, Gulzar Ahmed, Rimon Ahmed, and Azmal Ali.       

The hospital's director Brig Gen Md Ruhul Amin said 43 people injured in the blasts were admitted to the hospital.

 

Police were yet to give details of the blasts.

bdnews24.com Sylhet Correspondent Manjur Ahmed said he saw four people, including two with serious wounds, lying on the street beside a motorcycle.

The blasts came within an hour of a media briefing on the raid in which an army spokesperson said the commandos were storming the complex where the militants holed up.

Mediapersons and onlookers in the area were asked to move at least a kilometre away when troops from the Para-Commando Battalion began the assault Saturday morning to round off a 30-hour siege to a complex housing two buildings -- one five-storey and the other four-storey.

Police said the militants rented a flat some months ago. The 30 families residing in as many other units of the buildings were trapped during the raid.

The commandos have rescued 78 people from the building, which the army spokesperson said was their priority.

Blasts and gunshots at the militant den rocked the area twice in the afternoon. The army said the militants charged IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) on the troop.

The firing intensified after the civilians were evacuated, but there seems to be a lull now.

It is not clear whether the militants have been neutralised or whether the para-commandos are preparing for one final assault after ascertaining what kind of resistance they might still face.

Counter-terrorism operations against built-in areas pose a huge challenge, especially if the terrorists rig the cobweb of apartments with explosives to be triggered when the commandos advance.

Special care has to be taken to minimise casualties among troops in such situations.

Confining the terrorists to a limited space is another challenge -- if they spread over the sprawling building, neutralising them becomes more difficult.

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