Woman blows herself up in Bangladesh raid on 'militant hide-out'

Crowds gathered during a police raid on suspected militants in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka

A woman said to have links with a banned militant group has blown herself up during a police raid on a house in Bangladesh, officials say.

The woman had links with the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) group, Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.

The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the country involving a female suicide bomber.

A man was also killed in a shoot-out in Saturday's raid in the capital, Dhaka.

Authorities said two other women and two children had earlier surrendered at the address, which was surrounded by police early on Saturday morning.

The identities of those who died and those arrested are not yet known.

The government said that the operation focused on a property described as a "militant hide-out".

In July, gunmen attacked a cafe in Dhaka killing 22 people. Officials said the attackers belonged to the JMB group, although so-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out the attack.