Suspected militants arrested in Bangladesh

Authorities said security agents have arrested five suspected Islamic militants in southeastern Bangladesh and seized bomb-making materials.

Bangladesh’s anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion said the suspects were arrested yesterday in a forest in Khagrachari district, 110 miles southeast of the capital, Dhaka.

Security commander Colonel Mizanur Rahman said today it is believed the suspects belong to the banned radical Islamic group Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Col Rahman said agents also seized explosives and bomb-making materials from the men.

Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh seeks to establish Islamic law in Muslim-majority Bangladesh and was blamed for countrywide bombings that killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens in 2005.