Bangladesh arrests Islamists, seizes explosives

DHAKA, July 18 (Reuters) Bangladesh security forces captured four Islamist militants and seized grenades and other explosives in a raid today, officials said.

A senior official of the elite Rapid Action Battalion said the four suspected members of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group were caught in a raid on a hideout near Kishoreganj, 150 km northwest of the capital Dhaka, following a tip-off.

Security forces also recovered 15 live grenades and 3 kg of powergel explosives in the raid, the official said.

Outlawed Islamists groups have been trying to regroup after six top leaders were hanged in March. They were convicted for carrying out a series of bomb attacks in 2005, killing at least 30 people and wounding 150.

The groups are seeking to introduce sharia, or Islamic law, in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim democracy.

REUTERS SM KN1856