Terrorists target Bangladesh...

Yet another country is under threat.

A Government minister and Islamic party leader has warned that Bangladesh faced a national crisis after a series of deadly bomb blasts by religious extremists calling for the imposition of strict Muslim law.

The government has long sought to play down the influence of Islamic extremists in the South Asian nation and denies any presence of the Al-Qaeda terror network. But the blasts since August have shaken authorities.

"Terming the attacks a national crisis, Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary and social welfare minister Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid said using bombs to achieve political ends would not resolve the problem," the official BSS news agency said.

The attacks, targeting the judiciary, police, and government buildings, have claimed the lives of 18 people including two judges. Three suicide bombers have also died and scores more have been injured, many seriously.