Police in Bangladesh say they killed nine extremists Tuesday during a shootout near the country’s capital city Dhaka.
National police chief Shahidul Hoque said the group of Islamic militants – believed to be members of the Islamic State-linked Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) – were planning to launch an attack similar to one earlier this month at a café that killed 22 people.
Officials said the militants were barricaded in a five-story building along the outskirts of Dhaka in the Kalyanpur area when they opened fire on police who were trying to enter the building. The extremists were heard yelling “Allahu Akbar” as they shot at police.
"They were wearing black outfits, turbans and had backpacks ... similar to the outfits the attackers in the cafe had," Hoque told reporters after the militants were killed. "They were plotting a major attack in the capital like that in the restaurant."
Along with the nine who were killed, Hoque said police captured one of the terrorists.
"The militant who was detained claimed they were Islamic State members but we think they're JMB," he said.
