Bangladesh police arrest fugitive

The attempt against Sheikh Hasina's life was in 2000

Security officials in Bangladesh have arrested a man wanted over the attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Mufti Abdul Hannan,leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, was arrested at a house in the capital, Dhaka.

The police had been looking for him since 2003 when he was sentenced in absentia to life in jail for attempting to kill Sheikh Hasina in 2000.

He is also suspected of involvement in a wave of deadly bombings on 17 August.

More than 400 small bombs exploded that day across Bangladesh, killing two people and injuring more than 100.

Officials of the anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion told the BBC they would question Hannan to find out whether he had any links with the blasts.

Hannan was previously arrested in July 2000 after explosives were found near the venue of a public meeting which the then prime minister was scheduled to attend.

However, he obtained bail and went into hiding. In 2003, a fast-track court sentenced him to life in prison.

The police are also looking for Abdur Rahman, head of Jama'atul Mujahideen, and Bangla Bhai, leader of Jagrata Muslim Janata, over the August bombings.

Both lead banned Islamic militant groups.

The campaign is one of the biggest manhunts Bangladesh has seen.