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Bangladesh hands death sentence to 3 Islamists

A special Bangladesh court sentenced three members of militant Islamic groups to death on Sunday for involvement in a suicide bombing in which eight people were killed more than two years ago, officials said.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 14:30 February 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dhaka: A special Bangladesh court sentenced three members of militant Islamic groups to death on Sunday for involvement in a suicide bombing in which eight people were killed more than two years ago, officials said.

The blast in the northern town of Netrokona was targeted at members of Udichi, a cultural group known for its anti-Islamist stance and which had been trying to promote the country's secular traditions.

A court official said, "On Sunday, the court sentenced the three Islamists to death by hanging as their involvement in the Udichi blast was proved undoubtedly."

The three men belonged to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, two outlawed groups blamed for a series of bombings across the country in 2005.

The groups want to turn primarily Muslim Bangladesh into a sharia-based Islamic country. The heads of both groups were executed last year following their conviction for the bombings.

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