Sylhet: Army commandos have joined the joint forces to raid a house, presumed to be a hideout of militants, at Shibbari in South Surma upazila of Sylhet.

Police cordoned off the suspected militant den in the early hours of Friday asked the suspected militants to surrender.

However, the militants did not surrender till filing of this report at 6:30pm.

A team of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit arrived at the spot around 4pm from Dhaka. A team of Para-Commando Battalion of Bangladesh Army also went to the spot around 8pm to take part in the drive.   

Later, the joint forces comprising district police, and members of SWAT, including a five-member bomb disposal unit, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and the Army commandos started the preparations to enter the house.

Meanwhile, 'the militants' talked to police from the house several times from 1:00pm to 1:45pm.

In response to the police request for surrender, a male militant said at about 1:00pm, "Send in force."

"We're on the path of Allah. Send SWAT team as early as possible. Why are you killing time?...we don't have enough time," said a female voice from the building at about 2:00pm.

Tipped off, a team of police raided the area and surrounded the five-storey building named 'Atia Mahal' owned by one Ustar Ali at about 4:30am, said Harun-ur-Rashid, officer-in-charge of Dakkhin Surma Police Station.

However, residents of the adjacent houses were evacuated while the shops located in the area were kept closed following the drive, said the OC.

The house owner said a man named Kawsar Ali identifying himself as an officer of private company Pran rented the house in January and his wife's name is Marjina.

Earlier, on March 16, four suspected militants, including a female one, and a six-year-old boy were killed during a special raid by joint forces on a militant hideout at Premtala in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong.