Bangladesh puts border forces on alert for militants

The Bangladeshi government issued "a red alert" on Friday in the borders to stop six alleged militants from fleeing the country.

"We've asked border forces to maintain a red alert so that the militants can not escape from the country," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamalhe told reporters.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) offered a cash reward of nearly 2 million taka (25,400 U.S. dollars) to anyone giving information leading to the arrest of the six men.

The DMP announced half a million taka (6,359 U.S. dollars) bounty on each of two organizers of Ansarullah Bangla Team while 200,000 taka (2,543 U.S. dollars) on each of four members of the banned militant outfit for their alleged link with recent attacks in the country.

Bangladesh has seen a surge in violence over the past few months when freethinkers, bloggers and members of minority Muslim sects and other religious groups have also been targeted.

Two people, including writer of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) magazine were hacked to death by unidentified assailants in the capital of Dhaka last month, days after an English professor was shot dead.

Khan said investigators have found evidence of involvements of the militants in the killings of secular bloggers, free-thinking writers and LGBT rights activists.

Steps are underway to arrest the militants, he said. Endit