Bodies of 4 Bangladeshi peacekeepers arrive

The bodies of four Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers, who died in a mine explosion in Mali on February 28, arrived in Dhaka this afternoon.

A special flight carrying the bodies landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 5:00pm, Lt Col Alamgir, director of Inter Service Public Relations, told The Daily Star.

Four Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed and four others injured in a mine explosion near Douentza in the Mopti region of Mali on February 28.

The dead are Warrant Officer Abul Kalam, Lance Corporal Aktar, Sainik Rayhan and Sainik (cook) Jamal.

The injured are Corporal Rasel, Sainik Akram, Sainik Newton and Sainik Rashed.

They were driving on a road linking the towns of Boni and Douentza in the region where six Malian soldiers were killed in a similar incident.

Bangladesh is the second largest troop contributor to the mission in Mali, according to the UN Peacekeeping website.

Until December 2017, Bangladesh had 1,398 troops serving in Mali.

In September 2017, three Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and four others injured in an explosion during a clash with criminals in Mali.

Earlier in 2015, a Bangladeshi peacekeeper was killed and another sustained bullet injuries in the nation's capital Bamako.