NSG team goes to Bangladesh to study terror strikes

A four-member bomb-expert team of NSG will leave for Bangladesh tomorrow to "analyse and study" the explosions at an Eid prayer gathering and the recent terror siege at a high-end restaurant in the neighbouring country.

The team, which includes National Security Guard (NSG) experts in post-blast analysis and counter-terror operations, will study the July 1 incident where terrorists laid siege at a bakery in Dhaka and killed 22 besides today's bombings in Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh, official sources said.

Indian agencies wanted to study the scenario, nature of explosion and psyche of terrorists in coordination with their Bangladeshi counterparts, as getting an insight into it will not only enhance counter-terror cooperation between the two neighbours but also add value to the operations knowledge of the elite commando Force.

NSG is the federal counter-terror and counter-hijack commando action force of the country that was raised in 1984.

The team, it is understood, will be in Dhaka over the weekend to gather leads on the two terror incidents.

NSG teams have travelled to some other friendly countries in the past as part of their charter to effectively prepare against terrorist incidents, the sources said.

Radical Islamists today hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh, leaving a policeman and a terrorist dead at Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered for Eid prayers.

The latest incident comes after last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed 22 people mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.