Blasts Kill One, Wound Dozens in Bangladesh
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A series of blasts killed at least one person and wounded dozens as Shiite Muslims gathered for a procession in the old part of Bangladesh's capital early on Saturday to mark the holy day of Ashura, a report said.
The ISIL terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack hours after the terrorist attack took palce, but Bangladesh's interior minister told Reuters that no militants were involved and the blasts were not linked to an attack that killed 16 people at a Shiite procession in neighboring Pakistan hours earlier.
Police cordoned off the area and one officer said four suspects had been arrested.
Witnesses said people fled after blasts, losing their flip-flops and sandals in the panic.
"This is not a militant attack, rather it is a planned and destructive attack aiming only to destabilize the situation of the country," Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.
"Though the attack came hours after a suicide bombing in Pakistan, we strongly believe the situation is not similar at all as we live peacefully with Shiite community," he said.
At least 10 people were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and most of them were in a stable condition, an official there said.
Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir, acting secretary general of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has demanded a "neutral investigation" into the attack.
