Bangladesh: Five militants, one firefighter killed in suicide blast during raid on militant hideout

Dhaka: 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. [caption id=“attachment_3437436” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] 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,