Sylhet: Two policemen and an activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) were killed and 16 people injured in a bomb blast in front of Gotatikor Madrasah adjacent to militant den Atia Mahal in Dakkhin Surma upazila on Saturday evening.

Jedan Al Musa, Additional Deputy Police Commissioner (media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP), said two people carrying bombs came to the spot riding a motorcycle and blasted those around 6:45pm, leaving Sylhet court inspector Abu Kawsar and BCL activist Atiq Rahman Apu, 20, dead on the spot and 17 people, including two police personnel, injured.

Police recovered a motorcycle and an unexploded bomb from the spot, Musa added.

The injured were taken to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital (SOMCH) where one of the injured policemen, Monir Hossain, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Jalalabad Police Station, succumbed to his wounds around 7:30pm.

Meanwhile, Shiblu Malakar, 27, son of Basanta Malakar of the area, suffered bullet wounds as he was watching the drive from a temple adjacent to Atia Mahal.

Later, he was taken to the SOMCH.

Earlier in the day, amid explosions and gunshots the members of joint forces, led by army Para Commandos stormed the militants' den in the afternoon after and rescued 78 members of 28 families trapped in the building.

Sound of gunshots and big explosions rocked the area during the army-led operation that began around 2pm and continued till filing of this report at 10 pm.

After about a 30-hour siege to the ‘militants’ den’ by joint forces , a team of Para Commando Battalion of Bangladesh Army, led by GOC Major General Anwarul Momen, launched operation, 'Twilight', in  the building named ‘Atia Mahal’ around 8: 46am, said Musa.

Briefing reporters about the operation on behalf of the Army in the evening, Brig Gen Md Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters that the operation is taking time as they are conducting it very carefully with explosives lying scattered here and there in different rooms and staircases of the five-storey building having 150 rooms.

“Militants are creating obstacles to the commandos’ operation by hurling explosives,” he said.   

The army officer said 78 residents, including 27 women and 21 children, of the building were rescued in three phases and kept them in a school of the area.

“Our main target was to rescue safely the innocent people got trapped inside the building, and we’ve succeeded in it. But, militants are still there inside the building and we’re proceeding very carefully removing explosives,” he added.

Fakhrul, however, could not exactly say when the operation could be concluded.

Asked whether the drive will continue overnight, he said commandos will take the decision evaluating the situation.

Musa said the journalists have been kept one kilometer away from the building for safety.

He said law enforcers before the operation had asked the militants to surrender but they did not respond to their call.

A team of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police took position in front of the house.

On Friday night, army commandos joined the joint forces to raid the house after police cordoned it off in the early hours of Friday.

A SWAT unit reached the spot around 4pm on Friday from Dhaka. Another team of Para-Commando Battalion of Bangladesh Army had also been there around 8pm on Friday to join the drive.

Later, the joint forces comprising district police, and members of SWAT, including a five-member bomb disposal unit, Rab and the Army commandos started the preparations to enter the five-storey building named 'Atia Mahal'.

Besides, police, members of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Detective Branch (DB) of police, City Special Branch (SB), Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and other law enforcement also are also there.

Police suspected that the militants might have taken their position in a room on the east side of a flat on the ground floor of the building.