Saturday, August 20 2005 11:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhaka: About 100 people have been arrested for their suspected links to the unprecedented bombings in Bangladesh which left two people dead and 140 injured, police said yesterday (August 19, 2005).

Nine of them, including two who confessed about their involvement in the bombings, were being questioned by detectives in the capital Dhaka, they said.

63 enquiry committees, which had been set up, were working round-the-clock to find clues to the near simultaneous explosions of over 400 crude bombs across the country.

Police said 63 of Bangladesh's 64 districts were hit by the bombings, the first such attack in this politically volatile South Asian country.

Police sources said that at this stage of probe everything was being looked at and nothing, including involvement of the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, was being ruled out.

The Jamiat-ul Mujahideen, leaflets under whose name were found at the blasts site, wants establishment of Islamic rule and has warned of serious action if its demand is not met.

The activities of Jamiat-ul Mujahideen came to light in 2002 when its commander and eight others were arrested from Dinajpur, distributing leaflets carrying Oama bin Laden's call for 'jihad' as well as cassettes containing speeches of the al-Qaeda leader.

Following this, its alleged involvement was found in several cases of bombings, arson and murderous attacks, mostly against the Opposition Awami League, Leftist organisations, cultural activists and NGOs like Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee that were considered 'un-Islamic' by the outfit.