5 killed in Bangladesh suicide blasts

Four militants and a firefighter were killed in suicide blasts on Thursday during a security raid on a suspected militant hideout in Bangladesh's Rajshahi district, a police official said.

The official said based on a tip-off, security forces surrounded a house early Thursday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Four militants blew themselves when the police tried to enter the house where members of the banned Neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant group were holed up," another police official said.

He said the firefighter succumbed to injuries in a hospital

Two policemen also sustained injuries as the suspected militants opened fire, said the official.

The Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was blamed for the deadly July 1, 2016, attack on a cafe in Dhaka, which killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.

At least two suspected militants were killed on Sunday after police raided a house in Jhenidah district,

--IANS

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