Military Intelligence Director Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan formally announced the closure of the Operation Twilight on Tuesday after a four-day drive at the militant hideout where four suspected militants were killed.
"We concluded the operation and handed over the Atia Mahal to police considering it as a crime scene this afternoon," he said while briefing journalists at Sylhet Jalalabad Cantonment Tuesday evening.
Earlier at noon, army and its bomb disposal unit took charge of the five-storey building to dispose of the bombs scattered in the militant hideout. The law enforcers defused around 10 explosives inside the hideout located at Dakshin Surma in Sylhet, Fakhrul Ahsan further said.
Some residents of Pathanpara, an area just 250 yards away from the operation site Atia Mahal, have begun returning to their homes feeling safe.
Meanwhile, the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit of police is suspecting that Musa, the operational leader of Neo-JMB, to have been killed in the joint operation of the security forces at Shibbari in Sylhet.
Musa, who is also in the most wanted list of the India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), is the main suspect in the Bardawan bomb blast case.
High officials of (CTTC) unit told the Daily Observer, police matched the photograph of the dead militant with that of Musa to come to this assumption.
Police have taken control of 'Atia Mahal' after para-commandos wrapped up their anti-terror operation at the building complex in Sylhet. Bodies of two militant suspects, among four killed in the three-day long raid, were still inside the five-storey building at Shibbari of South Surma, said Additional Commissioner of police Rokonuddin.
Police were given custody of the building at 5:15pm on Tuesday, he said.
DNA samples and other evidences will be collected from the body to be sure of the dead militant's real identity, police sources said.
According to police, Musa of Neo-JMB, an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), is trying to reorganise the outfit and is carrying out targeted attacks.
After Ashkona raid on December 24 last year, Monirul, Chief of CTTC, had confirmed that after the killing of Neo-JMB leader and Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim Chowdhury, Maj (retd) Zahidul Islam alias Zahid some other top leaders and mid-level leaders of the militant group were on the run.
The man died from a suicide vest blast, according to primary examination done at the crime scene. The woman is believed have set herself on fire.
Their autopsies were conducted at Osmani Medical College and Hospital by forensic medicine chief Shamsul Islam, leading a three-member team, on Tuesday noon.
"The bodies are beyond recognition. They are being kept at the morgue. We have their finger prints and DNA samples," said Kotwali police OC Soheil Ahmed.
Two more suspects who died at 'Atia Mahal' were still inside the building complex on Tuesday, said Moglabazar police OC Khairul Fazal.
Para-commandos on Monday evening ended a siege of the building complex after killing the four militants who were holed up inside since the raid began early Friday.
Moglabazar police SI Md Soheil Rana conducted a primary examination of the male suspect's body in front of 'Atia Mahal' after 6:00pm.
The male suspect was approximately 5 feet and 5 inches tall. His face was burnt. Some hair was still visible on his head.
He was wearing a black attire and black shoes when he died. Some portions of his black trousers were still stuck to his feet.
His chest and lower abdomen have been blown off in the explosion. The flesh on his left leg was also gone.
"The unidentified body seems to be of a militant. It is being assumed that the suspect blew himself up using explosives to avoid arrest," the police report said.
The woman, on the other hand, seems to be four feet tall, according to police. Her face too was heavily burnt. Some hair on her head was still visible. Her entire body, except her wrists and feet, were burnt to the point that her bones became visible.
She was identified as a woman based on her burnt chest and one of her legs which still had some flesh.
"The body is of a militant's wife and a tip-off suggests she too was a militant group member. It is being assumed that she set herself on fire to avoid being caught," said the police report.
