Police believe female suspect among four killed in Sylhet is 'Morjina Begum'

Police believe the female suspect among four killed in Sylhet militant den is 'Morjina Begum'.

The army recovered and handed two of the four bodies to police on Monday after a four-day siege to the buildings where the militants holed up amid other residents.

Police were not sure about the identity of the body of the male suspect they received from the army, Moglabazar Police Station OC Khairul Fazal told bdnews24.com.

The two other bodies could not be recovered because, the army said, they were wearing suicide vests.

After law-enforcing agencies had cordoned off the two buildings on the same compound early on Friday, army para-commandos launched an operation to neutralise the militants on Saturday morning. The assault intensified after rescuing 78 residents from the five-storey building where the militants were hiding.  

The army on Monday evening said that they have taken control of the building and found four suspects dead, including a female. The operation was not called off yet as there were explosives planted all over the building, the army said.

Ustar Ali, who owns both the buildings, said a couple identifying themselves as Morjina and her husband 'Kausar Ali' rented a flat on the ground floor of the house. Police launched the raid on suspicion that the flat was being used as a hideout of militants.

Landlord Ustar also said he collected copies of their National ID cards while renting the flat three months ago.

OC Khairul said it appeared that the female suspect killed in the assault is Morjina.

Asked whether the other is Kausar, he said police were not sure because the bodies were defaced. The army earlier said the explosives strapped to one of the militant’s body was detonated after he was shot by the commandos.

The OC said the post-mortem examinations will be conducted on Tuesday.

After laying the siege to the buildings on Friday, police asked the militants to surrender. A female voice and a male voice could be heard conversing with the police from inside the building at the time.

Asked if any top militant leader was holed up in the Sylhet den, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Sunday said, “Maybe. We can’t say for sure before the raid ends.”

“Anything is possible and anyone can be inside. We believe there is someone (militant leader) inside,” he added.