2 'militants' killed in 'shootout'

Two unidentified militant suspects were killed in a "gunfight" with police at Madhupur upazila in the district early Sunday morning, claimed police.

A police constable, Ridom Shikder, escaped fatal injuries as he wore a bulletproof vest when a bullet hit him in the chest during the fight with the "militants", Mahbub Alam, superintendent of police (SP) in Tangail, told The Daily Star.

The gunfight took place at a check post, on Tangail-Mymensingh Road, set up by a joint team of police and special task group, on information that a church of Christian community in Telki area might be attacked by criminals, the SP said.

Two youths, aged between 25 and 30 years, on a motorbike were stopped at the check post at around 4:00am, when they sprayed bullets at the law enforcers, he said, adding that the two assailants sustained bullet injuries as the law enforcers also returned fire at them.

The injured were declared dead after they were taken to Madhupur Upazila Health Complex.

After the gunfight a bag was recovered from the possession of the attackers and a revolver, three rounds of bullets, a used bullet case, two machetes, a cell phone handset, hand-written scripts on procedures for making bombs and printouts of jihadi propaganda materials were found inside the bag, the SP said.

"We suspect the deceased youths were members of a militant group. The scripts found from the bag on the spot are similar to the scripts the law enforcers had recovered from the possession of three female JMB members arrested from Jokarchar under Kalihati upazila in Tangail on July 5," said Ashok Kumar Singha, an inspector of Tangail police Detective Branch.

The bodies of the two youths have been sent to Tangail Medical College Hospital for autopsy and investigation is underway to determine their identity, he added.

Earlier, on July 5, three female members -- Jannati alias Jemmy, 18, Sajida Akter, 22, and Rozina Begum, 30 -- of outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh were arrested from a rented house in Jokarchar area in Kalihati upazila of the district.