Bangladesh blast, gunbattle leave 2 dead during Eid prayers
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NEW DELHI- Islamic extremists in Bangladesh hurled homemade bombs and engaged in a gunbattle with police guarding a large Eid prayer at the end of the holy Muslim month Thursday morning. One officer and one suspected militant were killed, while several others were injured, officials said.
At least one of the bombs exploded during the prayer attended by hundreds of thousands of people at the sprawling Sholakia grounds the district of Kishoreganj, about 60 miles north of the capital of Dhaka. The grounds hold the largest open-air gatherings for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
After the blast, police fired on the attackers and killed one of them, assistant police Superintendent Tofazzal Hossain said. The country's information minister said the target of the attack was the police convoy patrolling the religious gathering.
