Dhaka- Scattered body parts of seven to eight suspected militants were found yesterday by the joint forces when they entered into a militant hideout at the outskirts of Moulvibazar town after conducting a 22 hour long operation titled-‘Operation Hit Back’.During a press briefing at Khalilpur Union Complex building after the operation, Monirul Islam, chief of Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime unit (CTTU) said that they had discovered the dead body of at least seven-to-eight militants inside the building.
“We think there were seven to eight bodies of different ages,” he said adding that they are suspecting that the militants had “committed suicide” with suicide vest. “They probably triggered the suicide vest when they found out that there was no way to escape.”
When asked whether they had been able to identify any of the dead bodies, Monirul said that all of their bodies had been blown into pieces, so at that point it was very hard for them to specifically identify any of the bodies.
“We however are sure that they all are members of Neo-JMB,” said Monirul, “We are also suspecting that the dead militants inside are all might be members of a same family.”
Monirul said that they have detained the caretaker of the building. “We are going to interrogate him for more information.”
He informed that from the caretaker, they learned that the suspected militants in Nasirpur were living in seclusion there. No one in the vicinity saw them coming out or going off to any nearby places.
He told the journalists a large pile of improvised explosive devices (IED) were found inside the building. These IEDs have similarities with the IEDs found in Sitakund operation.
Monirul said that they had no information about the Nasirpur hideout. They learned about it while they cordoned off another hideout in Barahaat area, 20 kilometer away from Nasirpur.
Monirul said that they would soon start conducting operation in Barahat. where they cordoned off the area after they got information that a group of militants had been residing inside the building.
Earlier, the operation- ‘Operation Hit Back’ started at 6:18 pm on Wednesday by joint forces comprised of members of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and district police.
Around 5:00am yesterday, the team tried to enter the premises but their operation was obstructed due to rainstorm.
The joint team started the operation again at around 11:50am. At first they tried to detect presence of militants using drone in the den and then launched the drive. Sound of sporadic gunshots and explosions were heard from the scene.
The security forces launched the final assault at around 2:30 and successfully completed the operation by 3:45 pm.
The local administration shut down all the educational institutions in and around the spots for ensuring the security of civilians, police said. Police evacuated the residents of the area safely.
The local administration also imposed section 144 in Barhat area from Wednesday. Detectives identified the ‘militant den’ of Barahat keeping close watch on the house for three days and gathering information about the tenant. – Staff reporter
