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Indian troops kill Bangladeshi guards, official says
Source: Reuters
(Adds Indian border patrol death, quotes) DHAKA, July 18 (Reuters) - Two Bangladeshi border guards have been shot dead by Indian troops near a frontier post, triggering an immediate protest by Dhaka, a Bangladeshi security official said on Friday. "Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) suddenly started firing when our forces were patrolling along the northwestern frontier on Thursday night," said Major Mahmud, of the Bangladesh Rifles border guards. "Two of our soldiers had been fatally hit. It's (a) serious violation by the BSF. We have lodged a strong protest with the BSF over the incident," he told Reuters. Bangladesh Rifles' Colonel Abdul Halim later told a news conference that the Bangladesh troops returned the fire, and a BSF member was also killed. He said the Indian border patrol boat had illegally entered Bangladesh territory on the river Padma which lies on the border of both countries and was challenged by the Bangladesh patrol. Halim accused the Indian troops of firing first, adding that they left the boat with an injured Indian national on board after the shootout. The Bangladeshis seized the boat and arrested the Indian civilian, he said. The BSF said they were chasing cattle smugglers when Bangladeshi border guards fired at them, forcing them to retaliate. "One of our guards was hit in the firing and we think the Bangladesh Rifles had no business to be on our side of the border," Ashish Kumar Mitra, the BSF chief, told Reuters. Despite generally friendly relations between the two countries, Indian and Bangladeshi border guards often exchange fire along their 4,000-km (2,500-mile) porous border, which runs through rice fields, hills, jungles, marshes and rivers. They accuse each other of frequently targeting civilians on the frontier, known for rampant smuggling and illegal migration. Both sides accuse each other of helping smugglers as well. In 2006, at least 16 Indian and three Bangladeshi solders were killed in the deadliest border clash between the two countries.
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