Police set to move on suspected terror den in Jheinaidah

Counter-terrorism personnel are preparing to enter a suspected terrorist hideout in Jhenaidah.

There may be no one inside it at the moment, but a huge amount of explosives has been possibly stored in it.

The tin-roofed house at a village on the outskirts of the district town was sealed off Friday evening on intelligence inputs that it was used by militants as a hideout.

Khulna Range Police's chief Didar Ahmmed said on Saturday that they were taking extra precaution to move on the house as militants may have rigged the house with explosives.

As many as 30 members from the counter-terrorism unit in Dhaka have already reached the spot, the deputy inspector general told bdnews24.com.

Late on Friday, police confirmed that no one was in the house, but they suspect a huge amount of explosives were cached inside.

"A huge amount of chemicals is scattered in the rooms. Some suicide vests can also be seen. We will use our equipment to dispose of the explosives," senior counterterrorism officer Sanwar Hossain told bdnews24.com around 8:30pm.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanwar also said the Neo-JMB, the revived edition of militant group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was using the house as a 'bomb-making facility.'

Jhenaidah Superintendent of Police Mizanbur Rahman told bdnews24.com that the owner of the two-room house, 'Abdullah', converted to Islam from Hinduism five years ago.

Mohibul Islam Khan, Deputy Commissioner of police's counterterrorism unit, earlier told bdnews24.com they surrounded the house following intelligence inputs that militants were staying in the house.

"We are almost certain that there is no one in the house now. But we suspect there is a huge cache of explosives in it," he had said.

Police asked the onlookers and reporters around 8:45pm to move away to a safe distance.