Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Bangladesh arrests 3, seize bomb-making materials

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-25 23:57

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Police in northern Bangladesh arrested three suspected militants tied to a banned Islamic group and seized a large cache of bomb-making materials, an official said Thursday.

Supporters of Bangladesh Awami League hold a replica of a boat, the party's election symbol, during an election campaign rally at Lalbagh area in Dhaka December 25, 2008. The general election will be held on December 29 in Bangladesh. [Agencies]

The raids came days before national elections to restore democracy, though police said it was unclear whether the explosives were part of any plot to disrupt the polls.

Officials seized at least 50 casings of grenades, explosives, batteries and books on jihad, or holy war, according to S.M. Muniruzzaman, police chief of the Gaibandha district where the arrests were made in separate raids Wednesday and Thursday.

He said the suspects are members of the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh group, which has been blamed for bombings in Bangladesh in recent years.

Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh has been blamed for more than 400 small bombs that exploded across Bangladesh on one day in 2005, killing two people and wounding dozens.

The group wants to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 150 million people that is ruled by secular laws. Muniruzzaman said it was not clear immediately if the militants were preparing to disrupt the national elections slated for Monday after nearly two years of military-backed interim rule.