A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday sentenced eight Islamic militants to life in prison for their role in a series of blasts across the country five years ago, police said. The country's elite Rapid Action Battlion arrested the militants in northern Nilphamari district six months after the country was hit by more than 400 synchronised blasts on August 17, 2005.
A district judge sentenced the eight to life terms on charges of possessing pistols, light machine guns and explosives in a case related to bombings in the district, police inspector Abul Kashem said. "All eight are members of the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). They are among 27 militants who carried out the blasts in key sites of the Nilphamari district," Kashem said. Two others named in the case have already died including a top militant who was executed in March 2007.