A bomber detonated explosives Friday near Dhaka's airport in Bangladesh, killing himself but causing no other casualties, police officials told CNN.

The blast occurred at a checkpoint near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, according to Assistant Police Commissioner Ruhul Amin Shagor.

It was the third recent attempted suicide attack in Bangladesh's capital.

On Saturday, a suspected militant carrying explosives was killed by the Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, Bangladesh's counterterrorism squad.

On March 17, a suicide bomber denotated explosives outside a RAB camp in Dhaka, killing himself and injuring two security personnel.</s>The Islamic State group claimed responsibility late Friday for a suspected suicide bomb attack outside the Bangladeshi capital's main international airport, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.

A bomber was killed in the blast, police said, the third in a series of suspected attacks and the second claimed by the Islamic State group since last week.

The bomb, carried by a man on foot, exploded near a police checkpoint monitoring vehicles heading to Hazrat Shahjahal International Airport in Dhaka.

"The bomb carrier himself was killed," a Dhaka police spokesman, Yusuf Ali, told AFP.

In an Arabic report, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to US-based monitoring agency SITE Intelligence Group.

"A martyrdom-seeking attack targeted a Bangladeshi police checkpoint near the international airport in the city of Dhaka," the IS-linked Amaq news agency said.

"He was carrying it (the bomb) but we can't confirm yet whether he was trying to attack the check-post," he said, adding that the bomb carrier was aged around 30.

However, a police officer, who cannot be named, told AFP that they suspected it was a "suicide blast" in which only the "suicide attacker" was killed.

The suspected attack was the third since last Friday, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a camp for the country's elite security force near the airport.

The attacker was killed and two members of the Rapid Action Battalion, tasked with combating Islamist militancy, were injured.

The Islamic State group claimed the attack but the Bangladeshi government deny the presence of IS in the country and rejected the jihadists' claim.

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

The Bangladeshi government argues a new faction of homegrown extremist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was behind that and other attacks.

Last Saturday a man on a motorbike tried to cross a RAB security roadblock in Dhaka carrying a bag with improvised explosive devices.

The latest incident came as police in the northeastern city of Sylhet cordoned off a five-storey building early Friday morning where suspected extremists were holed up.

Police have also been carrying out a series of raids in the southern Chittagong region and say they killed four suspected militants when they stormed an extremist hideout last Thursday.</s>Bangladesh police stand guard after an attacker was killed in front of a police box at the entrance to Dhaka’s international airport on March 24, 2017 (AFP Photo/STR)

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility late Friday for a suspected suicide bomb attack outside the Bangladeshi capital's main international airport, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.

A bomber was killed in the blast, police said, the third in a series of suspected attacks and the second claimed by the Islamic State group since last week.

The bomb, carried by a man on foot, exploded near a police checkpoint monitoring vehicles heading to Hazrat Shahjahal International Airport in Dhaka.

"The bomb carrier himself was killed," a Dhaka police spokesman, Yusuf Ali, told AFP.

In an Arabic report, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to US-based monitoring agency SITE Intelligence Group.

"A martyrdom-seeking attack targeted a Bangladeshi police checkpoint near the international airport in the city of Dhaka," the IS-linked Amaq news agency said.

"He was carrying it (the bomb) but we can't confirm yet whether he was trying to attack the check-post," he said, adding that the bomb carrier was aged around 30.

However, a police officer, who cannot be named, told AFP that they suspected it was a "suicide blast" in which only the "suicide attacker" was killed.

The suspected attack was the third since last Friday, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a camp for the country's elite security force near the airport.

The attacker was killed and two members of the Rapid Action Battalion, tasked with combating Islamist militancy, were injured.

The Islamic State group claimed the attack but the Bangladeshi government deny the presence of IS in the country and rejected the jihadists' claim.

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

The Bangladeshi government argues a new faction of homegrown extremist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was behind that and other attacks.

Last Saturday a man on a motorbike tried to cross a RAB security roadblock in Dhaka carrying a bag with improvised explosive devices.

The latest incident came as police in the northeastern city of Sylhet cordoned off a five-storey building early Friday morning where suspected extremists were holed up.

Police have also been carrying out a series of raids in the southern Chittagong region and say they killed four suspected militants when they stormed an extremist hideout last Thursday.</s>A security personnel talks over a walky-talky while others stand guard in front of the spot where a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

DHAKA (Reuters) - A man carrying a bomb blew himself up in front of a police checkpoint near Bangladesh’s international airport on Friday, in a blast claimed by Islamic State.

The militant group said it killed many officers and wounded others, an account not confirmed by authorities.

The blast was the third incident involving explosives in the capital in a week.

Police shot and killed a suspected militant who tried to cross a security checkpoint on a motorcycle armed with explosives in Dhaka’s Khilgaon area on Saturday.

A day before that, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security forces base, again near Dhaka’s airport, injuring two police officers.

The militants named this Friday’s attacker as Abu Mohammed al-Bengali and said he had detonated his explosive jacket in the midst of police officers it dismissed as “apostates” in a message posted on supporters’ social media accounts.

Dhaka city police chief, Asaduzzaman Mia, gave a different account at the scene, telling reporters the man had been carrying the bomb which exploded as he tried to hide it from police.

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

Authorities have consistently ruled out the presence of such groups, blaming domestic militants instead.</s>A bomber detonated explosives Friday near Dhaka's airport in Bangladesh, killing himself but causing no other casualties, police officials told CNN.

The blast occurred at a checkpoint near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, according to Assistant Police Commissioner Ruhul Amin Shagor.

It was the third recent attempted suicide attack in Bangladesh's capital.

On Saturday, a suspected militant carrying explosives was killed by the Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, Bangladesh's counterterrorism squad.

On March 17, a suicide bomber denotated explosives outside a RAB camp in Dhaka, killing himself and injuring two security personnel.</s>Bangladesh police stand after attacker was killed at the Dhaka international airport.</s>Suicide bomber blows himself up near Bangladesh airport

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint near Bangladesh's international airport on Friday, police said, the second such incident in a week, Reuters reported.

A young man set off a bomb in front of a police checkpoint and killed himself, police official Ruhul Amin said. No other casualties were reported.

The attacker could not be identified immediately. Police have cordoned off the area.

The latest incident came a week after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security forces base near the international airport in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, injuring two police officers.

The Muslim-majority country of 160 million people has seen a series of deadly attacks in recent years. In the most serious attack last July, gunmen stormed a Dhaka cafe and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners.

More than 50 suspected militants have been killed and scores arrested since the cafe attack as the government launched a crackdown on Islamists.</s>DHAKA: A suicide bomber blew himself up near Bangladesh's international airport on Friday, police said, the second such incident in a week.

A man set off a bomb in front of a police checkpoint and killed himself, police official Ruhul Amin said. No other casualties were reported.

The latest incident came a week after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security forces base near the international airport in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, part of a surge of militant attacks in the Muslim-majority country.</s>A suicide bomber blew himself up near Bangladesh's international airport on Friday, police said, the second such incident in a week. A man set off a bomb in front of a police checkpoint and killed himself, police official Ruhul Amin said.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>DHAKA: A man carrying a bomb blew himself up in front of a police checkpoint near Bangladesh's international airport on Friday, the third incident involving explosives in the capital in a week.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, though it was reported on Islamic State's news agency Amaq, according to the SITE monitoring service.

It came six days after police shot and killed a suspected militant who tried to cross a security checkpoint on a motorcycle armed with explosives in Dhaka's Khilgaon area.

A day before that, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security forces base, again near Dhaka's airport, injuring two police officers.

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

Authorities have consistently ruled out the presence of such groups, blaming domestic militants instead.

Police initially described this Friday's explosion as a suicide attack. But Dhaka city police chief, Asaduzzaman Mia, later cast doubt on that account saying the man had been carrying the bomb which exploded as he tried to hide it from police.
A suicide bomber blows himself up at a checkpoint at Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh, with no other casualties reported.