Bomb blasts rock Bangladesh terminals, one hurt

DHAKA (Reuters) - Three simultaneous bomb blasts rocked separate railway terminals in Bangladesh on Tuesday, with militant slogans claiming to be from al Qaeda found at two of the sites.

One man was hurt in the blasts, which triggered panic among commuters who evacuated railway terminals.

Thin metal sheets scribbled with slogans were found at the bomb sites in Dhaka's Kamalapur and Sylhet terminals. The third blast was in the railway terminal of the southeastern city of Chittagong.

"... If Hazrat (Prophet) Mohammad is not declared the superman of the world by May 10, all non-governmental organizations will be blown up," the slogans on the metal sheets read in the Bengali language. They were signed "the al Qaeda network" in English.

No one was arrested and police could not immediately confirm any al Qaeda link to the blasts.

"The bombs were kept in cotton sacks, along with the metal sheets. They exploded before anyone detected them," said police Inspector Abu Zafar Alam at Kamalapur, Bangladesh's biggest railway terminal.

Another officer, who asked not to be identified, said the bombs may have been intended to send a message that Islamist militants were back in business after a brief lull following the execution of a number of top leaders.

A rickshaw-puller was wounded at the Chittagong terminal when he tried to open one of the sacks before it exploded, police said.

"We are not taking this lightly," said Mainul Husein, law and information adviser to Bangladesh's army-backed interim government. "Investigations are continuing. People's safety is a major concern."

OUTLAWED GROUPS

The outlawed Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen carried out a series of bomb blasts across Bangladesh on August 17, 2005, killing three people and injuring more than 100.

In more attacks through the rest of 2005, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and another outlawed group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, killed nearly 30 people and wounded 150, including judges, lawyers, police and officials.

Six leaders from the two groups were executed on March 30 for their role in the blasts.

The militants had previously threatened non-governmental organizations, especially those working to promote women's rights in the mainly Muslim South Asian country.

"We are not afraid, we are united and will keep on working for the people," Khushi Kabir, leader of a women's NGO group, Nijera Kori, told Reuters. "The latest blasts indicate that they are yet to be uprooted."

Many commuters fled the terminals, too scared to board trains.

"I am afraid to take on the journey. There may be more bombs around," said Didarul Alam, a bank official waiting to board a train to Chittagong. "They have spoiled my holiday."

Many Bangladeshis were traveling out of Dhaka, taking advantage of a two-day public holiday for May Day and a Buddhist religious festival on Wednesday.

Security has been tightened across the country, police said.

Intelligence groups last month alerted the government that Islamist militants were regrouping.

"This proved they are still active and dared to show their teeth," said one security official, who asked not to be named.

The interim government imposed a state of emergency in January following deadly political violence that forced the authorities to suspend a scheduled national election.

Tuesday's blasts occurred almost simultaneously around 7:30 a.m. (0130 GMT), police said.

(Additional reporting by Anis Ahmed and Azad Majumder)