Law enforcers were raiding a “Neo JMB” hideout at a two-storey building in Chittagong's Sitakunda upazila with three to four families trapped inside the same building till early today.

Police's attempts to take the families to safety went in vain last night as several suspected militants holed up on the ground floor there threw grenades and fired shots at them.

Police tracked down the hideout in Sitakunda's Premtala area hours after they busted another “Neo JMB” den only a kilometre away, and arrested two suspected militants who claimed to be a couple in the upazila's Amirabad area around 3:00pm.

Law enforcers, however, didn't give the names or details of the couple who had a two-month-old baby with them.

A suicide vest, three handmade grenades, a pistol, circuits used for making bombs and 12 bullets were recovered from the den.

A Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team preparing for the raid in Sitakunda, Chittagong on March 15, 2017. Star file photo

Talking to The Daily Star last night, Shafiqul Islam, deputy inspector general of Chittagong range, said they found the Premtala hideout based on information of the two arrested militants.

He said police tried to enter the building but the militants hurled handmade grenades and fired several shots at them, leaving Inspector (investigation) Mojammel Hoque of Sitakunda police station wounded.

They managed to contact over the phone the owner of the building who was still trapped in one of the three apartments there, said the DIG.

Quoting the building's owner, he said two men and a woman rented one of the apartments on March 1.

Shafiqul told The Daily Star over the phone that they would carry out an operation today with the help of members of Special Weapon and Tactic Team from Dhaka and Chittagong.

Police and Rab members cordoned off the building, “Chhayaneer”.

Speaking at a press briefing last night, Nure Alam Mina, superintendent of police in Chittagong, said both the hideouts were used by “Neo JMB” members.

He said that acting on information from two detained militant suspects, they raided a militant hideout in Patiya upazila last week but found it empty.

On March 7, police arrested two suspected militants -- Mahmud Hasan and Ahmed Azwad Imtiaz Talukder alias Omi -- who told interrogators that “Neo JMB” had at least three more dens in Chittagong, and had chosen the district as its base, finding it difficult to operate in the capital.

Additional SP (north) Mosiuddowla Reza said the two militant suspects arrested yesterday were highly trained and that the woman was wearing a suicide vest.

The bomb disposal unit of Chittagong Metropolitan Police defused the suicide vest and three grenades around 8:30pm, he said.

DIG Shafiqul told this correspondent that they came to know about the Amirabad hideout from a truck driver, who had taken goods and luggage of suspected militants from Patiya to Sitakunda early this month.

However, additional SP Reza, who led yesterday's raid on the Amirabad den, gave a different version.

He said they busted the den after getting information from the house owner around 2:30pm.

The police official said when he reached the place, he saw a woman holding a baby in one hand and pushing another woman with the other hand.

The woman with the baby then tried to set off the suicide vest she was wearing. Reza then caught her and took away the baby with the help of other policemen, he said.

House owner Subhas Chandra Das said he became suspicious of the couple -- Jasim and Arjina -- over the last few days. 

“Our suspicion grew as the couple used to keep all the doors and windows shut. We became more alert after watching the news of busting of a militant den in Mirsarai a few days back,” said Subhas.

Out of curiosity, Subhas went to the couple's flat on Monday evening. The couple opened the door but kept standing at the entrance.

From outside, Subhas noticed that two men inside the flat were trying to hide something. He then forcibly entered the flat and saw a huge quantity of circuits and wires.

“I collected several circuits from Jasim, and this morning, took those to an electrician who identified those as timers,” Subhas said.

He said that they informed the police in the afternoon.