18 March 2017

News Story: Bangladesh puts airports, prisons on high alert following suicide blast in Dhaka

DHAKA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A high alert has been put on strategically important places including airports and prisons in Bangladesh following a "suicide blast" at the proposed headquarters of the country's elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in capital Dhaka on Friday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police have reportedly carried out searches in many important places and also asked five-star hotels and restaurants to beef up security.

Special force personnel in plainclothes were deployed at many landmark spots and foreign companies in the city.

A Home Ministry official who did not like to be named said security measures have been beefed up at all prisons across the country.

Guards have been asked to rigorously screen prisoners before taking them into prisons, he said.

Bangladesh's Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Spokesman Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin said additional precautions have been taken at every airport including Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport following the terror attack reportedly run by the Islamic State (IS) militants.

A suicide bomber died and two cops were injured as the bomb the suspected militant was carrying exploded when he was being intercepted by law enforcers Friday in Bangladesh's capital.

Read the full story at Xinhua