US, Australia issue security alerts for their nationals in Dhaka
The US and Australia have issued separate security alerts for their nationals living in Bangladesh following yesterday’s blast near a police box in Dhaka that left one dead.
The US Embassy in Dhaka, in an updated alert today, asked its citizens to review their personal security plans, remain aware of their surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates.
It also urged the US citizens to be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance their personal security and asked to limit their movements.
Besides, the Australian government has issued a travel alert for its nationals in Bangladesh, citing it had “reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Western interests in Bangladesh”.
In the latest advice, they urged Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Bangladesh due to the high threat of “terrorist attack and the uncertain security situation”.
“Anticipate heightened security arrangements when using the airport and follow instructions of local authorities. The level of the advice has not changed. We continue to advise Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Bangladesh,” according to the advice issued today.
It said: “If you do decide to travel, take additional security measures, register your travel on Smartraveller and monitor the media and other sources about possible security risks.”
The alerts came in the wake of a man, aged between 30 and 32, was killed when a bomb attached to his waist exploded near the police box at the Airport intersection yesterday.
Hours after the incident, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the blast. Terrorism monitoring group SITE Intelligence citing IS's mouthpiece Amaq news agency reported it as “suicide bombing”.
Earlier the US also issued alerts for its citizens travelling in Bangladesh following threats from ‘terror groups’.
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