Bangladesh's opposition parties continue protest

Thousands police and paramilitary troops patrolled the capital yesterday on the second day of a general strike called to protest a grenade attack on an opposition political rally that killed 20 people and wounded hundreds.

Schools shops remained closed and most traffic halted across Bangladesh because of the strike called by the country's main opposition Awami League and several leftist parties.

Train were disrupted throughout the country as demonstrators squatted on railroads or cut tracks, spokesman for Bangladesh Railways Mosta-e-Jamil said.

No clashes were immediately reported yesterday.

But strike-related violence between police and protesters left more than 300 people injured since Monday, said the Ittefaq daily. Nearly 100 demonstrators were detained on the first day of the two-day strike on Tuesday, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

Fearing violence, authorities ordered nearly 7,000 police and paramilitary troops to patrol the capital, Dhaka.

In Dhaka, the streets were empty of cars and buses, with many commuters resorting to rickshaws that were allowed to operate.

A group calling itself Hikmatul Zihad claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail message to the Prothom Alo newspaper and threatened further attacks against Hasina.

"Don't think that Sheikh Hasina is out of danger. We missed our previous chance ... We are coming and this time we will accomplish our target within seven days," the e-mail said, according to the Dhaka-based daily's chief reporter, Probash Amin.

The newspaper said it had informed police investigators about the message.

No other details were immediately available.

Hasina, who was unharmed, has blamed Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's administration for the attack. The government has denied involvement.

The Awami League has shortened yesterday's strike to half a day to allow people to attend the funeral of a senior opposition leader, spokesman Abdul Jalil said.

Ivy Rahman, who lost her legs in the grenade attack, died Tuesday, doctors and her family said.