The Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit has called an end to “Operation South Paw” at a militant den in Jhenaidah town.
About five powerful bombs were defused on Saturday by the Bomb Disposal Unit.
Deputy Inspector General Didar Ahmmed said at a press briefing that the operation ended around 2pm Saturday.
"We have recovered a large cache of explosive material which could have been used to make a lot of bombs. From the looks of it, we suspect it was a bomb factory for the New JMB," said DIG Didar.
He continued: "The owner, Abdullah, was a neo-convert to Islam. He and his wife Fatima alias Rubina are both members of the New JMB. We believe they escaped before the operation started."
According to neighbours Chand Ali and Yusuf Ali, Abdullah converted to Islam in 2012 and married his wife who lived in Chuadanga.
"They both were very private people, they were seldom visited by anyone. The only people who did were strangers who rode in on motorcycles. Neither of them spoke to anyone in the village," the neighbours said.
CTTC bomb disposal team started neutralising IEDs, bombs and recovered other explosives from the den around 9am Saturday,” CTTC Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.
The operation was paused for a few hours on Saturday morning due to rain.
Also Read- Large number of IEDs, 3 suicide vests found in Jhenaidah militant hideout
The CTTC traced the hideout in Porahati area on Friday afternoon and found one 9mm pistol, three suicide vests, one pressure cooker bomb, 20 chemical containers and a large amount of IEDs and detonators inside the den.
Law enforcers stand on alert at a distance from the militant hideout in Jhenaidah on Saturday morning
Dhaka TribuneThe CTTC bomb disposal team from Dhaka reached the spot on Friday night and started working on the site.
The building was used by the militants to make bombs and train fellow militants, said a CTTC source.
However, the CTTC team did not find any militant in the hideout.
