Bangladesh police arrest 7 suspected Islamist militants during raid
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police say security forces have arrested seven suspected members of a banned Islamist group blamed for attacks on foreigners and minority groups in Bangladesh.
Police officer Monirul Islam says those detained in a raid in Mirpur area in the Bangladeshi capital early Thursday included at least three "important figures" of Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB.
Islam says the search led to a huge cache of bombs and grenades and other explosives. He says the suspects exploded bombs as the raid started, but no one was injured.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Officials have cordoned off the building and evacuated other residents.
The group was founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, a religious teacher educated in Saudi Arabia.