2 women militants surrender in B'desh

Two suspected militants, including a woman, were killed and two female university students, believed to be involved in Bangladesh's deadliest terrorist attack in 2016, surrendered on Wednesday, bringing an end to a 40-hour long tight security clampdown in Narsingdi near the national capital.

"We are wrapping up our operation as two women militants both students of Dhaka private Manarat University -- have surrendered," Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit (CTTC) chief Monirul Islam told reporters at the scene in central Narsingdi district, 75 kilometres northeast of Dhaka.

The two women, clad in black burqas, were escorted by law enforcers to a special ambulance around 2:45pm. They were also wearing helmets at the time.

The CTTC officials said the two women, believed to be involved in the July 1, 2016 deadly attack on Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery attack, had rented an apartment as ordinary tenants several months ago.

One of them was married to a fugitive operative of Neo Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh or Neo-JMB, an al-Qaeda linked group that carried out the cafe attack.

The cafe attack in Dhaka killed 22 people, including 17 foreigners. All the six terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in a subsequent commando assault.

Earlier, police cordoned off two militant hideouts a five-storey building and another seven-storey building on Tuesday night. They raided the five-storey building Tuesday night and recovered the bodies of a man and a woman along with firearms.

The officials said CTTC had information that the second woman was set to marry over phone with another Neo-JMB operative in a secret wedding ceremony. They raided the building Tuesday night and in an encounter two militants were killed.

However, the two female militants including the "terrorist bride" escaped and "we came to know that they are staying at another hideout at Narsigndi town which we raided in a near simultaneous time", officials said.

The Neo JMB is inclined to Islamic State and is believed to have carried out the cafe attack.

Since late 2015, the Neo-JMB led by Bangladeshi-origin Canadian Tamim Chowdhury was carrying out small scale clandestine attacks on foreigners and non-Muslims. Chowdhury was killed in an encounter.