NSG team to visit B’desh to study terror strikes

The team, which includes NSG experts in post-blast analysis and counter-terror operations, will study the July 1 incident, in which terrorists laid siege at a bakery in Dhaka and killed 22, besides Thursday’s bombings in Kishoreganj in Bangladesh, sources said.

Indian agencies wanted to study the scenario, nature of explosion and psyche of terrorists in coordination with their Bangladeshi counterparts, as getting an insight into it will not only enhance counter-terror cooperation between the two neighbours but also add value to the operations knowledge of the elite commando Force.

The NSG is the federal counter-terror and counter-hijack commando action force of the country that was raised in 1984. The team, it is understood, will be in Dhaka over the weekend to gather leads on the two terror incidents.

The NSG teams have travelled to some other friendly countries in the past as part of their charter to effectively prepare against terrorist incidents, the sources said.

Radical Islamists on Thursday hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with the police in Bangladesh, leaving a policeman and a terrorist dead at Sholakia in Kishoreganj district, where at least 200,000 people had gathered for Eid prayers.

The latest incident comes after the last week’s deadly attacks in Dhaka, which killed 22 people mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.