Bangladesh police kill nine suspected militants in raid

Police in Bangladesh killed nine suspected terrorist militants after a gun battle in Dhaka.

Police were searching the residential area of Kallyanpur when they were attacked by handmade bombs.

It was not immediately clear which group the suspected militants were part of.

According to the BBC, one suspect was taken into custody by police.

Bangladesh has recently seen a string of deadly attacks on secular writers, bloggers, and member of religious minorities.

Earlier this month 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in a bloody attack on an upmarket cafe in Dhaka.

On 1 July, five armed men entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic area and held people hostage for several hours. At least 20 people died in an attack claimed by Daesh.

Since the attack, police have been conducting planned "block raids" in suspected militant hideouts.

It was during one of these regular searches that the police came under attack on Tuesday, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Masud Ahmed, and retaliated with gun fire.