11 suspected Islamist militants killed in Bangladesh raids

Bangladesh's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) policemen return after a raid in Gazipur, Bangladesh, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Security forces in Bangladesh killed more than 10 suspected militants in three separate raids Saturday in an ongoing crackdown against Islamic extremism in the South Asian nation, a top government official said. The suspects were members of the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, which the government has blamed for a deadly attack in July at a restaurant in Dhaka, the capital, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Bangladesh's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) policemen keep a watch from a rooftop after a raid in Gazipur, Bangladesh, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Security forces in Bangladesh killed more than 10 suspected militants in three separate raids Saturday in an ongoing crackdown against Islamic extremism in the South Asian nation, a top government official said. The suspects were members of the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, which the government has blamed for a deadly attack in July at a restaurant in Dhaka, the capital, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – Bangladesh's home minister says security officials have killed at least 11 suspected militants in three separate raids in an ongoing crackdown against Islamic extremism in the South Asian nation.

Asaduzzaman Khan says the operations took place Saturday in Gazipur, located just outside the capital of Dhaka, and in the central district of Tangail.

Khan says the suspects were members of the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB.

Bangladesh has recently been hit by Islamist extremists. A July 1 attack at a Dhaka restaurant left 20 hostages dead, including 17 foreigners.

Since that attack, the government has intensified its crackdown on suspected militant groups and killed some top JMB leaders.