About three to four militants are possibly holed up in a Moulvibazar den that was cordoned off by police while two to four more are in the other hideout, the home minister said today.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal made the remarks at the secretariat while replying to a query by journalists, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports.

Law enforcers cordoned off the two houses in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila early today. One of the two houses is in Borohat area under Sadar municipality while another in Nasirpur village under Khalilpur union in the same upazila, said Mohammad Shahjalal, superintendent of police in Moulvibazar.

Primarily it is believed, there could be three to four militants in the militant den at Borohat and two to four more at the Nasirpur militant den, the minister said according to the daily.

There could be one or two female militants as well, the daily reported Kamal as saying.

Asked whether there are any top leaders in the Moulvibazar militant dens, the minister said, there could be but it cannot be ascertained yet, reports Prothom Alo.

A special unit of police and the SWAT team are on their way to the spot, the minister added.

The raid comes just a day after army commandos ended an operation codenamed “Operation Twilight” at a house called Atia Mahal in at Shibbari of Sylhet and handed the crime scene over to the police. Four militants, including a woman, were killed during the Sylhet’s commando assault.

A London expatriate from Moulvibazar is found to be the owner of both the houses.