Bangladesh arrest 26 Islamic militants

BANGLADESH: Security officers arrested 26 suspected members of an Islamic militant group blamed for fatal bombings that killed and wounded dozens across Bangladesh last year, authorities said Thursday.

Officers also seized explosives and bomb-making materials from the men arrested late Wednesday at their hideout in Mymensingh district, 112 kilometers (70 miles) north of capital Dhaka, said Lt. Col. Nurul Momen Khan, a security official involved in the raid.

Khan said the men reportedly belong to Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, an outlawed militant group held responsible for a series of bombings last year that targeted courts and government buildings.

On Aug. 17 last year, militants set off more than 400 bombs across the country, most of them targeting court houses and government buildings, the government said.

They were followed by more bombings of court houses in two other cities, Chittagong and Netrokona.

The attacks left 26 people dead and dozens wounded, authorities said.

The suspects were being questioned by officers from the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite anti-crime force that led Wednesday's operation inside a forest after a tip-off, Khan said without providing further details.

Dhaka, Thursday, AP