Top leader of Bangladesh's banned militant outfit killed

Bangladesh police Tuesday killed chief of a homegrown banned militant outfit blamed for several deadly attacks on foreigners, bloggers, rights activists and 2016 Dhaka cafe siege that killed 20 people, including an Indian girl.

Khorshed Alam alias Shamim, chief of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), was killed in a gunfight in Bogra in the northern town of Shibganj, police said.

Bogra Sadar circle's Additional Superintendent of Police Sanatan Chakraborty said they raided the Tantipukur area, following a tip-off that a group of militants had gathered there.

Upon seeing the police, the militants opened fire, forcing the security personnel to fire back, triggering a gunfight, Chakraborty was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.

Although the majority of the militants fled the scene, Khorshed's bullet-riddled body was found on the spot, the officer said.

Chakraborty said the injured leader was rushed to Shahid Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

On his way to the hospital, Khorshed revealed his identity, Chakraborty said.

Two policemen who were injured in the gun battle are undergoing treatment at the Bogra Police Hospital, he said.

The officer said that police recovered two firearms, three rounds of bullets, a machete, and a dagger from the spot.

Bangladesh police blamed the JMB for the two terror attacks, including the Dhaka cafe siege, in which 20 people, including 17 foreigners and an Indian girl, were killed in the brutal late-night attack in Gulshan area of the capital on July 1, 2016.

The Islamic State claimed the brutal Dhaka cafe attack, but the government has insisted that the group had no base in the country and the attacks was carried out by homegrown militant groups like the JMB.

Bangladesh has also witnessed a number of Islamist attacks since 2013 on foreigners, liberals and religious minority with the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda making competing claims.

The government has consistently dismissed their claims, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government blames the JMB for the deadly attacks in Bangladesh.