DHAKA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - A special Bangladesh court sentenced three members of militant Islamic groups to death on Sunday for involvement in a suicide bombing more than two years ago in which eight people were killed, officials said.

The blast in the northern town of Netrokona was targeted at members of Udichi, a cultural group known for its anti-Islamist stance and which had been trying to promote the country's secular traditions.

"On Sunday, the court sentenced the three Islamists to death by hanging as their involvement in the Udichi blast was proved undoubtedly," a court official said.

The three men belonged to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, two outlawed groups blamed for a series of bombings across the country in 2005.

The groups want to turn mainly Muslim Bangladesh into a sharia-based Islamic country. The heads of both the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata were executed last year following their conviction for the bombings.

But security experts say many of their followers are still active and trying to regroup.

(Reporting by Nizam Ahmed; Writing by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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