Funeral prayers held for 6 Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in Sudan

They will be buried in their home districts with full military honours

Funeral prayers have been held in Dhaka for six Bangladeshi soldiers killed in a drone attack on a United Nations peacekeeping base in Sudan.

The service took place on Sunday morning at the Dhaka Cantonment's central mosque and was attended by senior military officials, including the Army chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy chief Admiral Nazmul Hasan and Air Force chief Hasan Mahmood Khan.

After the prayers, floral wreaths were laid on the coffins on behalf of President Md Shahabuddin and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The three branches of the Armed Forces also paid their respects.

The bodies are set to be flown by helicopter to the soldiers’ home districts, where they will be buried with full military honours.

The remains of the peacekeepers arrived in Dhaka on Saturday morning.

The six were killed on Dec 13 in a drone attack by a separatist armed group in Sudan's Abyei. Eight other Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured.

Those killed were identified as Corporal Md Masud Rana, soldiers Md Mominul Islam, Shamim Reza and Shanto Mondol, mess waiter Mohammad Jahangir Alam and laundry worker Md Sabuj Mia. The injured included a lieutenant colonel, a sergeant, a corporal, a lance corporal and four soldiers.