Bangladesh Terror Plotter 'Killed In Raid'

Three suspected militants have been killed in a shootout with Bangladeshi police - including the alleged planner of a terror attack that left 22 people dead.

Officers raided a house in Narayanganj, near the capital Dhaka, and killed the suspects after an hour-long shootout, counterterrorism official Monirul Islam said.

Police believe the three men included Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-born Canadian who is alleged to have been behind an attack on a cafe in which 20 hostages and two policemen were killed.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the 1 July attack in Dhaka, but the Bangladesh government said it was orchestrated by Chowdhury and carried out by militants from the banned Islamic group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh.

Security officials were tipped off that Chowdhury was hiding in Narayanganj, Bangladesh police chief Shahidul Hoque said.

He added: "The operation went on for an hour. We can see three dead bodies.

"They did not surrender. They threw four to five grenades at police and fired from AK 22 rifles.

"Three extremists were killed. Among them, one of the dead persons looked exactly like the photo of Tamim Chowdhury that we have."

Since the 1 July cafe attack a series of raids have been carried out on suspected militant hideouts, resulting in the deaths of 24 alleged extremists.

Police blame the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, a homegrown militant group, for the deaths of more than 80 people over the last three years.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: "Tamim Chowdhury's chapter is closed here."

Other Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh militants are "very few" in number and face imminent arrest, he added.

The police raid came two days before US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to visit Bangladesh.

Officials said security issues, including Dhaka-Washington DC anti-terror cooperation, will feature during Mr Kerry's talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart on Monday.