A suicide bomber on Friday blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by Islamic State terrorist group, a week after a similar attack on a camp of Bangladesh's elite Rapid Action Battalion nearby.
The bomber, wearing jeans and shirt, was said to be in his early 30s. He blew the explosives tied to his waist at a police outpost at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The attacker could not be identified immediately and no other person was injured in the bombing.
Police said he was carrying a trolley bag filled with three more bombs, detonated in a controlled-explosion later by a bomb disposal unit during which five people, including a policeman, were wounded.
“The man exploded a bomb in front of the police post and killed himself,” a senior police officer told reporters.
Dhaka’s police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia told newsmen that the police vigil at the airport prompted the militant to commit suicide before he could attack the outpost.
Hours later the incident the Islamic State group claimed responsibility through its propaganda news agency 'Amaq'. It said the attack “targeted a Bangladeshi police checkpoint near the international airport in the city of Dhaka”. Bangladesh, however, has dismissed several previous IS claims, saying no foreign terrorist group has presence in the country.
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