âWe have made the request to our immediate neighbours to look around, arrest and return any Islamic militants who might have crossed over there,â said the official, who asked not to be named. âThese countries surrounding us are most likely safe haven for runaway fugitives,â he added. India condemned the blasts on Aug. 17 that killed two people and wounded about 100 across Bangladesh, and offered help to track down those responsible. The two countries share a 4,000-km (2,500-mile) river and porous land border and have often accused each other of harbouring hostile rebels. Along the heavily forested 320-km (200-mile) long border with Myanmar, Bangladeshi forces in recent months have launched operations to flush out ethnic Myanmar rebels fighting Yangon.
Bangladeshi police have blamed the Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen for the blasts, detaining dozens of members, but say that they are looking for about 500 more militants believed to be involved in planning and carrying out the attacks. No one claimed responsibility for the explosions but copies of a leaflet found at most bomb sites carried a call by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen for imposition of Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a Muslim democracy. The groupâs supreme leader, Shayek Abdur Rahman, is among those at large.