B'desh launches military operation at suspected militant den

Bangladeshi commandos today launched a military operation to flush out militants belonging to an Islamist group behind the country's worst terror attack from a building amid fears that several residents were trapped inside.

The operation was launched after a 48-hour siege by security forces failed to drive them out of a five-storey building in Sylhet, a northwestern city.

Officials and witnesses said army para-commandos led by a major general launched the crackdown assisted by police's Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit, counter terrorism unit and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

"GOC (general officer commanding) of our Sylhet-based 17 Infantry Division Major General Anwarul Momen is leading the 'Operation Twilight' there," a military spokesman told

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)