DHAKA, Oct 8 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government came down hard on homegrown militants through a number of drives, killing 11 suspected militants in operations conducted by law enforcement agencies in different regions on Saturday, officials said.
Police and elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members carried out the separate operations.
Teams of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT) and district police launched an operation in Gazipur, on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, at a militants den in a two-storey building around 12:00 am.
Home Minister Assaduzzaman Khan, at a press briefing after the operation, said the law enforcers gave time to the militants to surrender before the operation started.
The militants did not respond to the call and opened fire, forcing the police to exchange gunshots.
The three-hour gunfight left 7 militants dead, including Neo JMB military commander Akash.
The minister termed the operations "successful" and appreciated common people's feedback as they also came forward to assist the law enforcers.
Earlier, two alleged militants were killed in a gunfight during a raid on a "militant den" by members of Rapid Action Battalion in Harinal area of the city in the morning.
A team of the elite force cordoned off a one-storey building, owned by Ataur Rahman, following information that it was being used as a militant den.
When the law enforcers tried to enter the building, the militants opened fire on them, triggering a gunfight.
Half an hour after, the elite force recovered the bodies of two militants from the house.
The law enforcers also recovered one AK-22 rifle, one pistol, 70 rounds of bullets and some bomb-making explosive substances and a laptop from the den.
In Tangail, two alleged militants were killed in a joint operation by police and Rapid Action Battalion in Kagmara area of the district town in the morning.
The deceased could not be identified immediately.