Army Para Commandos found the bodies of four militants, including that of a female one, at militant den Atia Mahal at Shibbari of Dakkhin Surma upazila of Sylhet on Monday.

Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan, spokesperson of the operation, ‘Operation Twilight,’ came up with the disclosure at a press conference near Aita Mahal around 7:30pm.

Two of the bodies were handed over to police while two others were lying on the ground floor of the building with suicidal vests around their waists, the army official said, reports UNB.

He, however, said their operation is not over yet. ‘Our operation is still on and it may take few more time to conclude it.’

Fakhrul said they think there is no militant alive inside the building.  ‘We aren’t concluding the operation right now as there’s process to do that. Search is still on. CID’s Crime Scene unit will arrive at the spot after the search.’

He said they conducted the drive successfully and no Army member was injured in the incident. ‘The situation had remained under the control of the Para Commandos all the time. We can say this operation is a great success for the Army.’

Asked whether the militants committed suicide or got killed in firing by the Para Commandos, Fakhrul said they were killed in army members’ firing.

Earlier, sounds of explosions and sporadic gunshots rocked Shibbari area of Dakkhin Surma upazila since morning.

Locals said firing started in the early morning and continued till afternoon at regular intervals.

They said they constantly heard the sounds of gunshots and explosions from 6:30am to 7am and again intermittently from 7:00am to 7:30am.

A big explosion was heard from the five-storey Atia Mahal around 3:15pm.

The Army-led operation, ‘Operation Twilight’, began on Saturday morning although police launched the raid on the militant den early Friday.

Meanwhile, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate has released five video footages on the ‘Operation Twilight’.  The video clips were posted on ISPR’s official website on Monday.

In the first video footage, it is seen that Army para commandos are trying to enter ‘Atia Mahal’ by breaking a portion of a wall of the building while in the second video clip, the sounds of sporadic gunshots were heard.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday said the law enforcement agencies identified the ‘militant den’ based on intelligence information. ‘The Para Commando Battalion of Bangladesh Army is conducting the operation considering the security of the local residents,’ he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat in the capital.

Additional Commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police SM Rokon Uddin said the bodies of all the six people who were killed in two bomb blasts in front of Gotatikor Madrasah adjacent to the militant den on Saturday, have been handed over to the family members with that of Khadim Shah of Doyabazar in Sunamganj and Shahidul Islam of Dariapara of the city being handed over on Monday.

Slain Police Inspector Monirul Islam was laid to eternal rest in Sadar upazila of Noakhali on Monday. He was buried at his family graveyard at Purbo Eojabalia village following a namaz-e-janaza at Mannan Nagar Model Academy ground.

However, Faruk, who was undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital after being hurt in the bomb blasts, fled from the hospital, he said.

Meanwhile, Shiplu Chowdhury, sub-inspector of Moglabazar Police Station, filed a case against unspecific number of unnamed people on Sunday night in connection with Saturday’s blasts, said Khairul Fazal, officer-in-charge of the police station.