Borohat anti-militant drive suspended for today

Moulvibazar Correspondent: The law enforcers have suspended anti-militancy drive codenamed “Operation Maximus” at Borohat of Moulvibazar and said the operation will resume again tomorrow morning.

Monirul Islam, additional commissioner and chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CTTC) under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), made the announcement while talking to reporters at Moulvibazar at around 7:15pm on Friday.

Monirul said, “The operation which began in the morning has been suspended for today as darkness descended. The operation will begin again tomorrow (Saturday) morning but it depends on the weather condition.”

He said suspected militants exploded several bombs when Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) members tried to enter the building during the operation today.

“We assume that there is a huge amount of explosives in their possession. This operation is comparatively a complex one as the building is comprised of several rooms and there is another under-construction building beside it,” said Monirul.

The CTTC chief said several militants are holed up in the building.

Earlier in the day, a policeman named constable Koisar suffered injuries in a blast believed to have been caused by bombs hurled by the holed up militants during the operation. Koisar was taken to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital.

Meanwhile, sporadic firing and blasts ensued around the duplex villa in Moulvibazar Sadar since this morning as SWAT joined in to launch assault “Operation Maximus”.

Locals and residents of nearby houses have already been evacuated. Restriction on gatherings and movement of the general – Section 144 – was clamped on this morning.

risingbd/MOULVIBAZAR/Mar 31, 2017/Hossain Ahmed/Amirul