Bangladesh blast kills 2 during Eid prayers, injures others

More than 250,000 people gathered to pray at the sprawling Sholakia field in Kishoreganj, a district about 60 miles north of the capital Dhaka, when the attack started, the BBC reported.

“Nine policemen were also injured”.

More than a dozen other people received gunshot or bomb shrapnel wounds, including two who were in critical condition, he said.

He thanked the police personnel for “weakening the intensity” of Kishoreganj attack. “We responded with gunfire”.

A pistol and a machete were among the weapons recovered from the scene of the attack, close to where 2.5 lakh people had been taking part in a post-Ramzan gathering.

Police constable Jahurul Haque, 30, died in the blasts that occurred around 9 a.m., at Azimuddin School gate, a kilometre away from the prayer ground, bdnews24 reported.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kishoreganj in Bangladesh on Thursday morning near a mass Eid prayer congregation, the second terror strike in the country in less than a week’s time.

The attack followed the deadly siege at a popular Dhaka cafe last Friday, when a group of terrorists killed 22 people – 20 of them civilians.

All of the victims of the weekend attack in the capital, who included 18 foreigners, were hacked to death.

That attack was claimed by so-called Islamic State, although the government said the attackers belonged to a local militant group.

A day before the event, police said they had put strict security measures in place, including uniformed and plain clothes officers as well as closed circuit security cameras. No one was allowed to bring in bags.

Following the release on social media of an Islamic State video where three Bangla-speaking men are seen threatening more terror attacks in the country, Bangladesh police has warned of stern action against those sharing or clicking “Like” of any such content. Bangladesh police have said they are investigating whether the attackers had IS links, though the government has blamed domestic militant organizations bent on imposing Islamic rule.

The country’s information minister said the target of the attack was the police convoy patrolling the religious gathering.

“They are anti-Islam, anti-religion and anti-government. They are against the normal religious practices of the country”, he told AFP.

“We are still checking for other miscreants but after this incident prayers were held peacefully and we have asked everyone to go home”, district administrator Zillur Rahman told Reuters.

Last month, authorities launched a crackdown on local militants, arresting more than 11,000 people, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or created to silence political opponents.