DHAKA — Bangladeshi special forces on Saturday raided a militant hideout in the southeast town of Chittagong, arrested four suspects and seized explosives and weapons, force commanders said. Last Sunday, the special forces raided a training camp in Chittagong district operated by an Islamist militant network that was planning to carry out attacks in the country. On Saturday, the Rapid Action Battalion recovered 150 kg (330 pounds) of high explosives and a range of bomb-making material from the first floor of a five-story residential building in the city. The battalion said that the material was enough to make more than 2000 bombs. The raid on the building was launched after special forces arrested five people on Feb. 22 at a camp in Banshkhali, a remote, hilly area of Chittagong, and found firearms, ammunition and other training material. “We had information about the militants from the earlier arrested militants,” said Lieutenant Colonel Miftah Uddin. Last month, Bangladeshi police arrested four suspected members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the capital, Dhaka, including a regional coordinator for the militant group who told police they had been trained in Pakistan. — Reuters
