Four people, including a woman and her minor son, were killed when a passenger train was set on fire by unidentified assailants in Dhaka amid political unrest over the upcoming general election, media reports said.
According to reports, the incident coincided with a nationwide train stoppage called by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to boycott the election, scheduled for 7 January 2024.
The BPN call was also used to launch a formal protest against the Election Commission's election schedule.
The Dhaka-bound inter-district Mohanganj Express train was attacked in the early hours of the morning, shortly after it left the Bangladeshi capital's Airport Railway Station.
"Passengers saw the fire after the train left the airport station and it was stopped at the next station, Tejgaon," Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon police station, was quoted as saying by the media.
The attack on the train, the fifth in a row in the past month, was the deadliest yet in terms of casualties, they added.