Police have identified three militants - who were killed in Thursday’s Sitakunda raid - as residents of Bandarban district.
The militants are Kamal Hossain, his wife Zubaira Yasmin and Kamal’s bother-in-law Johirul Hoque Jasim.
Police say they were linked to a new faction of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), affiliated with Islamic State.
Baishari police camp SI Abu Musa confirmed the identities to the Dhaka Tribune Saturday morning.
He said: “The slain militants are from Baishari area under Naikkhyangchhari upazila. The seven-month-old killed in the raid was Kamal and Zubaira’s child.
“Hasan, who was arrested in Comilla during an attack on a passenger bus, is also Kamal and Zubaira’s relative.”
Two men, including Hasan, attacked police petrol with crude bombs on March 7.
Zubaira’s mother Jannat Ara said: “Kamal and Zubaira were religious. They moved to a rented house in Sitakunda in February.
“Few days later, Jasim went to stay with them.”
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She said: “The couple also lured my 16-year-old daughter Monji Begum into joining them. She is also missing for eight months.”
Monji and two other siblings of Zubaira have remained missing.
Patiya OC Sheikh Md Neyamot Ullah, also a member of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit, said: “The two militants who were detained from another hideout in Sitakunda had disclosed Kamal and Zubaira’s name to us.
“When we showed the detainee’s pictures, one Nurul Amin confirmed that they stayed at his house in Patiya with Kamal and Zubaira.”
Bandarban Superintendent of Police Sanjit Roy said: “Not only Kamal and Zubaira, but a few other militants also hail from Banshari area. We are trying to arrest them.”
However, the police official refused to the identities of the militants for the sake of the investigation.
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Earlier on Wednesday, four militants, including a woman, were killed in a raid in Sitakunda. Two of them reportedly blew themselves up to evade being arrested. Later, police found the body of a child with the woman.
In a separate raid, two militants were captured from another hideout in neighbouring Namarbazar in Sitakunda on Tuesday.