Bomb blast, gunbattle kill 4 during Bangladesh Eid prayers

NEW DELHI (AP) — Islamic extremists in Bangladesh hurled bombs and traded gunfire with police guarding an Eid prayer service attended by hundreds of thousands on Thursday, killing two officers, a woman and an assailant.

The violence occurred just days after a deadly hostage-taking at a Dhaka restaurant that left 28 dead. The attacks are an escalation in extremist violence that had previously mostly targeted individual atheist bloggers, religious minorities and others considered by militants to be “enemies of Islam.”

Thursday’s attack hit the sprawling Sholakia grounds as huge crowds of people attended a prayer gathering for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Kishoreganj district, about 60 miles north of Dhaka, the capital.

At least one bombs hurled toward a police convoy exploded, killing two officers, assistant police superintendent Tofazzal Hossain said.

They then exchanged gunfire with police, and a woman and an assailant were killed, Hossain said.

Police chased the assailants through the area, searching nearby homes and body searching some devotees at the gathering, said resident Shafiqul Islam.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The information minister said police had been the target and insisted the attack was carried out by domestic militants fighting to establish Islamic rule in the Muslim-majority nation.