previously Bangladesh Pilots: The aircraft security authorities in India say they are searching for eight Afghan nationals whom they accuse of planning to hijack a Bangladeshi airliner.

An official of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security told the BBC the men were thought to be in eastern India.

He said intelligence agencies believe the Afghans are seeking the release of three leaders of the coup in neighbouring Bangladesh in 1975, in which the founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated.

At the same time, it's been confirmed in Bangladesh that the national airline, Biman, has dismissed three of its pilots.

News reports say they've been accused of being involved in a similar plot, though the government won't confirm this.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service