Bomb attack on Indian mission in Chittagong

Unidentified elements hurled a handmade bomb at the office of the Assistant High Commission of India in Chittagong on Sunday after the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced an 84-hour nation-wide strike, triggering protests across the country.

Police had on Saturday arrested at least five senior leaders of the BNP, including opposition Chair person Begum Khaleda Zia's adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo and her special assistant, Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas. Police also raided the homes of other leaders.

After the arrests, pro-BNP activists went ona rampage, torching vehicles and blocking the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

The aim of the strike is to force the ruling Awami League to hold elections due by January at the latest, under a non-partisan caretaker government.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly refused to do so. Instead, she has offered the formation of an all-party government to see through the elections, with her staying in charge.

The deadlock, nothing new in Bangladesh, has led to the deaths of at least 18 people during several violent protests and shutdowns.

The mounting tension is a fresh threat to Bangladesh's $22 billion garment export industry, the economic lifeblood of the impoverished country of 160 million, which has already been rocked by a string of deadly factory accidents this year.

Bangladesh has also been hit by a wave of violent demonstrations over war crimes convictions dating back to the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, with more than 100 people killed in protests and counter-protests this year.