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Bangladesh Bomb Attack Leaves 7 Dead

Bangladesh Bomb Attack Leaves 7 Dead
Bangladesh Bomb Attack Leaves 7 Dead

Anti-government protesters firebombed a bus full of sleeping passengers in eastern Bangladesh on Tuesday, killing seven in spiraling political unrest against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Several passengers were also critically injured in the attack in Chuddogram town blamed on activists from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by two-time former premier Khaleda Zia, AFP reported.

The deaths brought the number of people killed in the month-long protests to 53 -- most of them victims of firebomb attacks on buses and lorries -- as opposition activists try to enforce a transport blockade. However, Zia has denied BNP’s involvement in bombings.

“Seven passengers were burnt to death in the bus after the petrol bomb was thrown at 4a.m. (local time),” the police said in a statement. “Five of the passengers are fighting for their life as 40-80 percent of their bodies were burnt. They have been shifted to a hospital in the capital,” said the police. Up to 15 people were slightly injured after they jumped from the vehicle’s windows, trying to escape the blaze, the police added.

In another attack on Tuesday, four people suffered burn injuries after a petrol bomb was thrown at a moving train outside Dhaka, police said.

 

Financialtribune.com