1st LD Writethru: Two killed in police raid on militants' hideout in western Bangladesh

At least two suspected militants were killed on Sunday after Bangladeshi police stormed a house in the western Jhenidah district, where members of the banned Neo-JMB group were holed up.

The district's police chief Mizanur Rahman told Xinhua that the militants were most likely killed in "suicide explosions."

Based on a tip-off, security forces had surrounded the house early Sunday.

A huge blast and sporadic gunshots were heard from the house.

Two police officials sustained bullet injuries as the suspected militants opened fire at law enforcers after they encircled the house, Rahman said.

According to the official, police were primarily sure that the slain militants were members of "Neo JMB."

The Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was blamed for the deadly July 1, 2016 attack on a Spanish cafe in Dhaka, which killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.

Last month police found at least 17 large containers of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used to make bombs, from a suspected militant den in the district.

Over the last few months, Bangladeshi police have conducted series of large-scale operations against militants, in which dozens of suspected militants were killed. Endit