by Naim-Ul-Karim
DHAKA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A suspected militant was killed in a suicide blast during a raid on a hotel in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Tuesday, the country's police chief told journalists.
After the raid on the militant hideout ended on Tuesday morning at about 11 a.m. local time, AKM Shahidul Hoque, inspector general of Bangladesh Police, told journalists at the scene that "Militant Saiful Islam has blown himself up during the raid despite repeated requests to surrender."
The law enforcement agencies early on Tuesday cordoned off Hotel Olio International.
A portion of the hotel's fourth storey reportedly collapsed and fell onto the road after the explosion.
A pedestrian was injured in an explosion that rocked the area during the operation codenamed "August Bite."
The hotel is located a few blocks away from the memorial museum of Bangladesh's founding president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated on Aug. 15, 1975 along with 13 members of his family.
On Tuesday morning. Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying homage by placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu installed in front of the memorial museum in Western Dhaka's posh Dhanmondi area.
Read the full story at Xinhua