Bangladesh: 5 members of a family blow themselves up as police raid their hideout in Rajshahi

Five militants and a firefighter were killed in suicide blasts on Thursday during a security raid on a suspected militant hideout in Bangladesh's Rajshahi district, a police official said. According to local media reports, among the 5 killed militants 2 were women. The deceased fireman was identified as Abdul Latin. Police raided the hideout, about 200 miles (120 km) west of Dhaka, after a tip-off. According to the police, security forces surrounded a house early Thursday morning. POLICE OPERATION The operation began around 3:00 am early today. Police repeatedly asked the militants to surrender but they refused to do so. "Four militants blew themselves when the police tried to enter the house where members of the banned Neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant group were holed up," a police official said. Two policemen have been hospitalised with injuries sustained during the attack.The injured SI Utpal and Constable Tajul Islam were being treated at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. The militants are believed to be the owner of the house Sajjad Hossain, his wife Beli, two sons Alamin and Shoaib and daughter Kareema. Sajjad's another daughter, Sumaiya was seen sitting in the field in front of the house at that time. After 3 hours, she surrendered to the police. Police said Sumaiyar' 8-year-old son came out of the house with 3-month-old sister before the attack. Later police took them away. The Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was blamed for the deadly July 1, 2016, attack on a cafe in Dhaka, which killed 22 people, mostly foreigners. In another incident, at least two suspected militants were killed on Sunday after police raided a house in Jhenidah district. CRACKDOWN ON MILITANTS Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants specially after the Dhaka cafe attack. The Islamic State has claimed several attacks in Bangladesh, but the government rejects the presence of foreign terrorist groups in the moderate Muslim-majority country, blaming home-grown groups such as the neo-JMB for terrorist attacks.