Freed militant shot dead in Bangladesh

An Islamist prisoner freed by militants was killed in a gunfight between his accomplices and Bangladesh security officials, a police official said Monday.

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant Rakib Hasan Russell, who was recaptured after he was snatched along with two other JMB convicts from police custody in Mymensingh district Sunday, was killed in a "shootout" with police in Mirzapur area.

Police have yet to track down the attacking JMB operatives -- Salauddin Ahmed and Zahidul Islam -- who face death penalty and life in jail respectively for militant activities in the country, reported The Daily Star.

On Sunday, a policeman was killed and two others were injured when JMB militants attacked their van carrying the three prisoners to be produced before a court in Mymensingh district.

The JMB is a banned Islamic militant group which wants to establish strict Islamic laws in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Though Russell was killed around 4.30 a.m., none of his family members contacted police to receive his body till 2.30 p.m., said Golam Mostafa, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur police station.

At least six leaders of the militant group were hanged last Friday by the government for killing two judges in 2005.

The JMB militants killed two judges in Jhalkathi town in November 2005. The group made headlines after it exploded almost 500 bombs simultaneously Aug 17, 2005, across Bangladesh, including capital Dhaka.