1st LD Writethru: 3 militants dead as Bangladeshi elite force storm hideout near PM office

DHAKA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three militants were killed on Friday morning in a raid launched by Bangladesh's anti-crime elite force on a militant hideout near Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office in capital Dhaka.

Anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Benzir Ahmed confirmed the death of three militants.

"Bodies of three militants were seen on the 5th floor of the building where the militants were hiding out," he told journalists.

He said security forces surrounded the house suspecting it a militant hideout early Friday.

Two RAB personnel were injured as the "militants" fired bullets and hurled grenade at the law enforcers.

The militants inside exploded several bombs as the law enforcers asked them to surrender.

At least three people, including owner of the house, were detained.

It was not immediately known whether PM Hasina was in her office during the raid on the militants' hideout which is located less than a half km away from the PM office.

RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan said a bomb disposal unit of the RAB is working on the spot where some IEDs (improvised explosive devices) have been found.

In the wake of the deadly July 1, 2016 cafe attack, Bangladesh has conducted a series of large-scale operations against militants.

Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, has been blamed for an attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, in which 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, were killed. Enditem