566 arrested on the fifth day of Operation Devil Hunt

Another 1,099 people have been arrested in other cases

A total of 566 more have been arrested across Bangladesh on the fifth day of the ongoing drive named Operation Devil Hunt.

The number of arrests in the previous 24 hours was 591.

A message sent from the Police Headquarters on Thursday said a total of 1,665 people, including 566 on the fifth day of the operation, have been arrested in the nationwide crackdown.

They also said a total of 1,686 people had been arrested in the previous 24 hours, including 1,099 based on separate cases and warrants.

The Police Headquarters' message on Thursday did not specify the cases in which those arrested in Operation Devil Hunt are being held.

In addition to the arrests in the last 24 hours, two foreign pistols with magazines, five bullets, a dagger, and a machete have been recovered.

The interim government initiated the operation following an attack on the home of former Liberation War affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque in Gazipur on Feb 7, leaving several people injured.

It involves the army, navy, air force, police, Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB, Ansar, and Coast Guard personnel, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam confirmed.