Dhaka: Two women along with two children surrendered to police when the law enforcers were raiding a militant den at Ashkona of Uttara area in the capital on early Saturday, said Dhaka Metropolitan police (DMP) Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Miah.

The two women and their children surrendered to the police at about 9:30am, reports UNB.

One of the women is Jebunnahar Shila, wife of ex-army Major Zahid, who was killed in a ‘gunfight’ with law enforcers at Roopnagar in the capital on 2 September last, said assistant deputy commissioner Sanwar Sunny of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of DMP.

The other detained woman is Trishna, wife of absconding JMB leader Musa, he added.

Tipped off that a group of ‘Neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)’ were staying at an apartment in a three-storey building of the area, a team of the CTTC unit cordoned off the building early in the morning, said CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam while briefing reporters on the spot.

He said the JMB members staying on the ground floor of the building have powerful grenades.

The police asked the remaining JMB members in the den to surrender but they are yet to respond to the call.

Md Ali Rubel, a senior officer of International Finance Investment and Commerce (IFIC) bank and a resident of the house, told UNB that Md Jamal Hossain, owner of the house, is an expatriate living in the Middle East. Jamal’s wife and daughter used to live on the second floor of the building.

A team of law enforcers came to the house around 12.30am and inquired about the inmates of the apartments in the building. Later, the team entered the building and encircled the area at about 1:30am, Rubel added.

‘A team of CTTC started their drive at about 2:00am. The unit is trying to make the JMB members surrender,’ said the DMP commissioner while briefing the reporters.

‘Three JMB members including a woman are still staying in the building wearing suicidal belt denying surrender order of police,’ he said, ‘Among the three JMB members, one is Afif Kaderi alias Abir, son of Tanvir Kaderi, who was killed in Azimpur raid in September,’ added Asaduzzaman.

‘We are working in line with the government’s zero tolerance stance to rein in terrorism. We will try to make the JMB members staying in the building surrender till the end of the operation,’ said the commissioner.

Other residents of the building have already been shifted from the building, he added.