Bangladesh schools boost security over attack fears
DHAKA: Police in Bangladesh have stepped up security at English-language schools in the capital amid fears Islamic militants may be planning
attacks, officers said Friday.
The measures come nearly a month after a mutiny at a military headquarters in Dhaka, in which thousands of rank-and-file border guards were accused of killing more than 70 people, mainly senior army officers.
The government has said Islamic militants are linked to the mutiny.
Dhaka Metropolitan police chief Shahidul Haq said he held a meeting this week with representatives of 94 of the most prominent English-language schools in the city amid rumours of attacks on educational institutions.
"There is no specific threat but parents at the schools are worried. We don't know how this rumour started but we're taking it seriously," he said.
He added attendance by students was down sharply because parents feared an attack was imminent.
The government is yet to issue the findings of an official probe into the February 25-26 revolt, but says it has found evidence to suggest links with the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) extremist group.
The group was virtually silent under the army-backed regime in control for two years from January 2007, but was thought to be regrouping before December 29 elections last year.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been hit by a series of attacks by Islamic groups in recent years.
