Slum fire kills six in Bangladesh

DHAKA (Reuters) - At least six people including three children were killed when a fire swept through a slum in Dhaka, police and witnesses said on Sunday.

The fire on Saturday night gutted more than 1,200 shanties and left about 5,000 people homeless in the Bangladesh capital's Rayerbazar area. Firefighters put out the blaze after a 3-hour battle.

It is not clear what caused the fire, a police officer said.

Early this year, at least 21 people were killed in a blaze that raged through a slum in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; editing by Jerry Norton)