Bomb blast, gunfire kill 4 during Bangladesh Eid prayers

NEW DELHI -- Islamic extremists in Bangladesh hurled homemade bombs and traded gunfire with police guarding an Eid prayer service attended by hundreds of thousands of people Thursday, killing two officers, a woman and an assailant.

The violence occurred just days after a July 1 hostage-taking at a Dhaka restaurant that left 28 dead, most of them foreigners.

The attacks are an escalation in extremist violence that previously had targeted mostly individual atheist bloggers, religious minorities and others considered by militants to be "enemies of Islam."

Thursday's attack hit the sprawling Sholakia grounds as huge crowds of people attended a prayer gathering for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Kishoreganj district, about 60 miles north of Dhaka, the capital.

At least one of the bombs hurled toward a patrolling police convoy exploded, killing two officers, assistant police superintendent Tofazzal Hossain said.

The assailants then exchanged gunfire with police, and a woman and an assailant were killed, Hossain said.

Police chased the assailants through the area, searching nearby homes and body searching some devotees at the gathering, said resident Shafiqul Islam, who was among those offering Eid prayers.

More than a dozen other people had gunshot or bomb-shrapnel wounds, including two who were in critical condition, he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The government has dismissed claims of responsibility by the Islamic State group for past attacks, including the hostage-taking last week.