3 February 2015 Last updated at 06:45 ET
Bangladesh petrol bomb attack leaves seven dead
At least seven people have been burned to death and 15 others injured, some seriously, in a petrol bomb attack on a bus in eastern Bangladesh.
Police said the bus had been full of sleeping passengers when it was attacked near the town of Chauddagram.
It is the latest in a spate of attacks on buses, lorries and cars since anti-government protests began last month.
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia called for the protests on the anniversary of last year's disputed election.
However, she has denied that her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies are behind the firebombings.
BBC Bangla's Sayala Roksana in Dhaka says at least 50 people have been killed and 1,000 injured in violence since 5 January. More than 7,000 opposition activists have been arrested.
Farukh Hossain, one of the survivors, told the BBC that most passengers were asleep when the bomb was thrown.
Police officials said authorities had raided nearby villages but no arrests had been made.
"Seven passengers were burnt to death in the bus after the petrol bomb was thrown at 04:00 [20:00 GMT Monday]," district police chief Tuttul Chakrabarty told AFP news agency.
"Five of the passengers are fighting for their life. They have been shifted to a hospital in the capital."
Last month, Ms Zia urged her supporters to enforce a nationwide blockade of roads, railways and waterways to try to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to call fresh elections.
Ms Hasina has denounced the opposition as militants and accused activists of engaging in terrorism rather than politics.
Ms Zia was put under house arrest at the start of the protests, but has since been released.
The BNP and other opposition parties boycotted last year's election, saying it would be rigged.
They were angry that Sheikh Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, refused to stand aside to make way for a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the vote.
From other news sites
South China Morning Post*Political firebomb kills 7 bus passengers in eastern Bangladesh19 mins ago
ABC OnlineBangladesh unrest: Seven burnt to death, several injured after bus firebombed3 hrs ago
International Business Times UKBangladesh: Seven people burn to death in bus attack as political unrest continues7 hrs ago
TelegraphSeven bus passengers killed in spiralling political unrest in Bangladesh7 hrs ago
Yahoo! UK and IrelandSeven burnt to death after bus firebombed in Bangladesh8 hrs ago
বগুড়ায় পেট্রলবোমায় ট্রাকচালকের মৃত্যু
অনলাইন ডেস্ক
বগুড়ায় পণ্যবাহী ট্রাকে দুর্বৃত্তদের পেট্রলবোমায় হেলপারের পর এবার চালকেরও মৃত্যু হয়েছে। হাসপতালে চিকিৎসাধীন ট্রাকচালক পলাশ (৩৫) বৃহস্পতিবার দুপুর ১২টায় মারা যান।http://www.manobkantha.com/2015/02/05/211366.htmlযশোরে বিজিবি দপ্তরে বোমা হামলা
আবার বাসে পেট্রলবোমা হামলা, শিশুসহ দগ্ধ ৫
বগুড়ার শাজাহানপুর উপজেলার মাঝিরা বন্দর এলাকায় ঢাকা-বগুড়া মহাসড়কে গতকাল সন্ধ্যায় আলুবোঝাই একটি ট্রাকে অগ্নিসংযোগ করে দুর্বৃত্তরা l ছবি: প্রথম আলো
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