Travel Information

Warden Message December 8, 2005

Police confirmed that two suicide bombers detonated bombs in Netrokuna (149 km. NW of Dhaka) in separate incidents at 9:20 and 10:25 this morning.

The first attack occurred in front of the Udichi Office (Bangladesh Communist Party’s cultural wing), Nikhil Hazra Road, near Jahanara Memorial girls High School at around 9:20 and resultedi in no casualties. The bomb was spotted in the street by local citizens, who saw the suspicious device and called the police, but the bomb detonated before it could be disarmed.

An hour later, at the site of the explosion, a large crowd had gathered as the police investigated the incident. Two suicide bombers, mingling among the crowd, detonated devices which they had strapped to their waists. One of the two was killed instantly, and the other attacker was seriously injured. The police have taken the injured attacker to the hospital under their custody. Three other individuals were also killed at the scene: the Vice President of Udichi and two bystanders. The police reported that 35 more people were injured, some of them critically, and the death toll to rise. The suicide bomber that survived the explosion is not expected to live.

Given the difficult security situation prevailing in Bangladesh, all Americans are strongly advised to avoid large public gatherings, especially if an incident has just occurred.

The U.S. Embassy in Dhaka can be reached at (880-2) 885-5500 during regular hours and for after-hours emergencies. Our website address is www.dhaka.usembassy.gov. For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Bangladesh Consular Information Sheet and other Public Announcements and Travel Warnings can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S.; or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 am to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays)

 

U.S. Embassy

Dhaka, Bangladesh.