By FARID HOSSAIN Associated Press WriterThe Associated Press
DHAKA, Bangladesh Dec 8, 2005 — A bomb ripped through a crowded street in northern Bangladesh on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens in an attack police said may have been carried out by a suicide bomber on a bicycle.
The blast in the town of Netrokona occurred about an after authorities defused another bomb in the same area, said police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The police officials said they believe the blast may have been detonated by a suicide bomber who was making his way through the crowd on a bicycle. The apparent bomber was included in the count of five dead.
There were no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but a series of explosions in two other Bangladesh towns nearly two weeks have been blamed on militants who seek to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a largely Muslim country governed by secular laws.
Police detained and questioned more than 200 suspects after the recent blasts, which killed a total of 14 people, but have so far not officially charged any suspects.
Witnesses to Thursday’s blast described a scene of bloodied victims and screaming survivors. Many of the injured were taken to hospitals with legs or hands torn apart, raising fears the death toll in the blast could rise.
