900 detained in Bangladeshi anti-militant drive

Dhaka: Bangladeshi police reportedly detained nearly 900 people on Friday during the first day of an anti-militant drive across the country.

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said the weeklong drive was aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country, Xinhua reported.

Just on Friday, a Hindu monastery worker was found killed in Pabna district, some 216 km west of the capital Dhaka.

Alamgir Kabir, the district's police chief, said the motive behind the killing has yet to be known.

Bangladesh has been facing a surge in violent attacks in recent years.

A number of secularist writers, bloggers and publishers have been killed or seriously injured in attacks carried out by extremists since 2013.