18 killed in grenade attacks in Bangladesh

At least 18 people were confirmed killed, and some 300 were injured as unidentified assailants hurled over ten grenades toward a rally organized by the main opposition the Awami League (AL) Saturday in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

The assailants launched the attack simultaneously from various directions toward the crowd when AL chief and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was concluding her speech from atop of a truck before a huge rally in front of her party's central office.

According to eyewitnesses and AL workers, some grenades were hurled from the rooftop of a building located opposite to the AL central office.

Except for the deceased, some 300 people were injured on the spot including Hasina's personal bodyguards, some AL central leaders, journalists and policemen, while Hasina herself narrowly escaped from the attack.

The agitated AL activists damaged hundreds of vehicles and set fire to dozens of cars and buses in the city following the attack, and the police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the mob.

The AL leaders alleged it was a pre-planned attack to kill Hasina, as several grenades blasted closed to the track carrying the opposition leader.

Hasina in a statement on Saturday night strongly condemned the attack and blamed the government for the incident.

She demanded immediate resignation of the present government, saying it failed to ensure safety and security of the people.

The AL together with another three opposition parties have called a two-day countrywide hartal (destructive strike) on August 24 and 25 to protest against the attack.

Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed Saturday expressed his deep shock at the grenade attacks, and said in his statement that "only enemies of the nation can launch this type of barbaric attack."

Prime Minister and Chairperson of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party Khaleda Zia Saturday also expressed strong resentment and condemnation over the incident. "The terrorists will have to be identified through proper investigation to ensure their exemplary punishment," she said.

No one claimed responsibility of the incident so far.

Different social organizations and political parties all condemned the grenade attacks on the AL rally, terming it as a barbaric crime against humanity. They also showed great concern over the safety of people from terrorist attacks like this.

Saturday's attack is the latest in a series of bomb blasts in Bangladesh in 2004, including the bomb attack in May in northeastern city Sylhet injuring the visiting British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury.