Bangladesh increases security for New Yr functions

Dhaka, Apr 14: Some 10,000 police and army troops were deployed in the Bangladeshi capital today to prevent any militant attack on New Year celebrations, officials said.

Security was especially tight at Dhaka's Ramna Park where bomb blasts at a musical concert to mark the Bengali New Year killed seven people in 2001. The attacks were blamed on Muslim militants fighting to turn Bangladesh into a sharia state.

''We have taken special measures this time so that nothing like 2001 happens again, and people feel fully assured of their security during the celebration,'' said a senior city police officer.

Close-circuit cameras, sniffer dogs and metal detectors were deployed at the park where thousands of residents gather each year for the festivities.

Security has been tight across Bangladesh after the country's army-backed interim administration executed six militants, including the heads of the two main Islamist groups, last month for carrying out a series of bomb blasts in 2005.

The Islamists have vowed to avenge the hangings.

At least 50 members of the Islamist groups have been detained over the past month.

The interim administration which has arrested hundreds of politicians in a drive to clean up governance has also vowed to fight those preaching extremism.

Reuters