Rapid Action Battalion members today said they have busted a "militants' den" in Halishahar of Chittagong city and arrested three "active militants" along with large numbers of hand bombs and explosives.

The elite force recovered 150 kilogrammes of high power explosive material, 76 powerful hand bombs, 24 bullets and training equipment from the den housed on the first floor of a five-storey building at a building of Bashundhara Golden residential area, Benazir Ahmed, the Rab's director general, said at a press briefing.

The arrestees are: Md Abdul Hai, 36, of Morrelganj upazila of Bagerhat, Md Faizul Haque, 30, and Rahima Akhter, 21, of Pekua upazila of Cox's Bazar district.

"Without any financial support, it was impossible to collect these kinds of materials," the Rab chief claimed at the briefing.

At least 2,000 powerful bombs could have been made from these powerful explosives and bomb making materials, the Rab chief said.

"The trio, who used the flat as their den, was engaged in collecting the materials and store there," Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director at Legal and Media Wing of Rab, told The Daily Star.

Today's drive was a sequel to February 22 raid at Banskhali upazila when the elite force members unearthed a militants' training camp in Banshkhali upazila of Chittagong and arrested five people along with huge amount of firearms and training equipment, Benazir said.

Rab is investigating further in connection with the recovery and drives will continue, Rab members said.