Image copyright AFP Image caption Security forces have been exchanging gunfire with a group of suspected militants holed up in an apartment building in Sylhet

Six people - two police officers and four civilians - have been killed in twin bombings in north-eastern Bangladesh, officials say.

The blasts in Sylhet occurred near an apartment building where commandoes have been trying to flush out a group of suspected Islamist militants.

Earlier many civilians were evacuated from the block of flats. The suspects have refused to surrender.

Dozens of people were injured in the twin explosions on Saturday.

Army units continue to surround the building.

The blasts hit a large crowd which had gathered nearby as troops continued to exchange gunfire with the militants.

The first explosive device was brought by two men on a motorbike and the second was left in a bag of vegetables, police say.

So-called Islamic State (IS) claimed on messaging app Telegram that it was behind one of the blasts.

The suspected extremists are hiding out in a five-storey building, from which 78 civilians have been evacuated.

They keep detonating explosives strewn all around the building, the army says.

Police began their siege on Friday morning, the same day that an apparent suicide attack took place near the main airport in Dhaka, the capital.

Only the bomber died, and IS said it was behind the attack. There was another suspected suicide bombing in the Dhaka area on 17 March, which targeted the barracks of an elite police force, injuring two personnel.

A day later, a man was shot dead at a checkpoint of the same force, and police said bombs were found on him.

A violent resurgence - Analysis by Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC South Asia Analyst

The escalation in violence comes at a time when many in Bangladesh thought security forces had managed to curb Islamist militancy, following the deadly siege on a café in Dhaka last year.

Since then security personnel have carried out a number of raids, arresting and sometimes killing dozens of suspected Islamists across the country.

But the recent suicide attacks on security camps and checkpoints have surprised many.

Despite claims by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda, Bangladeshi police maintain that an offshoot of the banned Islamist outfit Jamiatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is responsible for many of these attacks.

The challenge for the security forces is to find out how many more followers or hard line jihadist sympathisers are still in hiding.

If it is proved that Islamist extremists are behind the recent handful of suicide bombings, then it marks a new phase in Bangladesh's fight against militancy.

The rise in violence may also trigger concerns among secular activists, religious minorities, academics and bloggers who bore the brunt of the jihadist violence in the past few years.</s>At least six people, including two police officials, were killed and scores wounded in two bomb blasts in Bangladesh Saturday near a militant hideout that was raided by commandos, police said.

The explosions in the northeastern district of Sylhet came a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint near the country’s main airport in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

“At least six people including two police official were killed in two explosions, one near the hideout and another in front of the building,” said Sylhet police spokesman Zedan Al Musa.

More than 40 people were wounded, several critically, he added. About a dozen army and police personnel were among the injured.

Islamic State claimed responsibility “for a bombing on Bangladeshi forces in Sylhet,” the SITE monitoring service said, citing the militant group’s news agency Amaq.

Army commandos had stormed the hideout, belonged to a domestic Islamist group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The group was blamed for a cafe attack last July in which 22 people were killed, most of them foreigners.

On Saturday, commandos rescued all 78 people trapped inside the five-story building for more than a day in an operation that was still underway.

The raid came after a string of suicide attacks on security bases this month.

A forensic report confirmed that Friday’s attack was a suicide blast that was the third incident involving explosives in the capital, Dhaka, in a week.

Islamic State and al-Qaida have made competing claims over killings of foreigners, liberals and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh, a mostly Muslim country of 160 million people.

The government has consistently ruled out the presence of such groups, blaming domestic militants instead.</s>Bangladesh military, assisted by the police launched an operation to flush out terrorists in Sylhet</s>Dilshan blasted 161 and Sangakkara 105 as the evergreen pair combined for an unbeaten 210-run stand to fire Sri Lanka to an imposing 332-1 in front of a boisterous crowd of 30,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Appalling in the field, Bangladesh's middle and lower order grafted hard but were set a mission impossible after a top order collapse that saw them slump to 100-5 after 20 overs.

Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga captured the final two wickets in consecutive balls as Bangladesh were dismissed for 240 with three overs to spare.

Though master batsman Sangakkara was dropped twice in his aggressive 76-ball knock, 38-year-old Dilshan was virtually flawless as he enjoyed a welcome return to form after scoring 24 and a duck in the team's opening matches against New Zealand and Afghanistan respectively.

He belted 22 fours to all corners of the ground to notch his highest score in ODIs and muttered thanks to the heavens after completing his 21st ton in the format off a streaky inside edge.

He later returned to take 2-35 with his part-time offspin, dismissing all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for 46 and having Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza stumped by wicketkeeper Sangakkara for seven to walk away with the man-of-the-match award.

Conditions had begged for a big total on the MCG's benign drop-in wicket and Bangladesh made Sri Lanka's task easier from the start.

Opening batsman Lahiru Thirimanne was dropped at slip by Anamul Haque on the fourth ball -- an easy, waist-high chance off paceman Mortaza.

That set the tone for a dreary afternoon of grassed catches, missed run-out opportunities and leaked runs from sloppy fielding that made Bangladesh's place at the global showpiece seem an embarrassing anomaly.

Thirimanne would be reprieved three times before finally dismissed on 52 when attempting an ill-conceived ramp shot off paceman Rubel Hossain that flew straight to Taskin Ahmed at third man.

He had earlier been the beneficiary of a missed stumping and another lost chance when wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim failed to move for a nick that flew between the stumper and slip early on.

Completing a forgettable afternoon, Mushfiqur later failed to back up a throw at the stumps that would have almost certainly captured Dilshan's wicket.

Playing his 400th ODI, Sangakkara could have been out for 23 had paceman Taskin clutched a difficult caught-and-bowled chance.

He was dropped again on 60 when cutting straight to point where Mominul Haque put down a sitter at chest height.

The fielder's petulant response, throwing the ball at the bowler's end in frustration, caused three runs from an over-throw.

Though Dilshan hogged the strike for much of the closing overs, Sangakkara completed his 22nd ODI century with a single to long-off in the final.</s>Bangladeshi policemen watch as paramilitary soldiers try to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition in the city of Sylhet, Bangladesh, Sunday, March 26, 2017. At least six people, including two policemen, have died in explosions in eastern Bangladesh as troops battle suspected militants.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Powhatan Today.</s>A wounded man is taken to a hospital by local people after a bomb blast in Sylhet, Bangladesh, March 25, 2017. Photo - Reuters A wounded man is taken to a hospital by local people after a bomb blast in Sylhet, Bangladesh, March 25, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Times of Oman.</s>At least one person was killed and scores wounded in a bomb blast on Saturday near a militant hideout being raided by commandos in northeastern Bangladesh, police said.

The explosion in Sylhet district came just a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpost near the country’s main airport.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>At least two civilians and one policeman killed during the operation at a residential building in Sylhet city.

At least two civilians and one policeman have been killed by explosions during an anti-terror operation in northeast Bangladesh.

The country's Daily Star newspaper reported on Saturday that two civilians were killed and another 26 injured when a blast ripped through the Shibbari area of Sylhet city as paramilitary commandos and SWAT carried out a raid on a suspected 'extremist' hideout.

A second blast infront of the hideout killed a policeman and left five others injured, it added.

Armed forces spokesman Colonel Rashidul Hasan told the AFP news agency that 78 people, who were trapped in the five-storey building, had been rescued after a more than 30-hour standoff.

Acting on a tip-off, police said they raided the building early on Friday and cordoned off the area after the attackers detonated small bombs.

"The operation began at 7:00am (01:00 GMT) in the morning and is still going on," Hasan said, adding the commandos "exchanged fire" with the attackers who were confined to a ground-floor apartment of the building.

The spokesman did not say how many people were in the building, but police said there were at least two, including a woman.

WATCH Does Bangladesh have an ISIL problem?

The raid comes after a series of suicide attacks this month including one at a police check-point near the country's main international airport on Friday night.

Two of the attacks, including Friday's blast in which the suicide attacker was killed, were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

ISIL has also claimed responsibility for a wave of killings since 2015 including a major attack on a Dhaka cafe last year in which 22 people, including 18 foreign hostages, were killed.

The Bangladeshi government denies ISIL has any presence in the country, arguing instead that a new faction of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was behind that and other attacks.</s>The police confirmed that the two officers killed in the explosions were members of the police bomb disposal unit, the Bangladesh News24 newspaper wrote.

The Islamic State (Daesh) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the bombing.

On Saturday morning, the Bangladeshi Para-Commando Battalion units began the operation against unidentified militants barricaded in two buildings in Sylhet, with the police evacuating dozens of civilians from the buildings, the media said.</s>Bangladesh has become a part of South Asian Satellite signing a deal yesterday with India, the launching country of the satellite. The $400 million worth satellite is ready and it could be launched anytime, said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Indian high commissioner in Bangladesh, after inking the deal in a ceremony at Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission .

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Daily Star.
Four people are killed in twin bombings in Sylhet, Bangladesh.