DHAKA: A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced five Islamist militants to 10 years in prison for carrying out explosions in 2005 as part of a deadly nationwide bombing campaign that shook the nation.

A court in the southeastern district of Rangamati convicted the five members of banned group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) over two explosions in the area, police Inspector Mominul Islam said.

“Six JMB militants were charged with the bombings. One was acquitted and five others were sentenced to ten years in jail,” Islam said.

The twin blasts were part of synchronised bombings carried out on Aug 17, 2005 across all Bangladesh cities and almost all districts that left two people dead.

Those blasts and subsequent bombings later that year, that killed 28 people, shook the nation of 160 million people whose government had earlier denied the presence of any militant groups.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2016