DHAKA — Dozens of crude bombs have exploded and passenger vehicles have been set on fire in Bangladesh's capital and elsewhere over the past three days, leaving one person dead and others injured, authorities and media reports said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Source: Associated Press via Newsday

The wave began with crude-bomb explosions at Dhaka University and in the Pallabi area on November 8, which Awaaz Punjab reported at the time. Tuesday brought the first death and a countrywide security response. Read: Crude bombs explode at Dhaka University as CID probes Pallabi blasts (Nov 8)

As many as 15 crude bombs exploded in the central district of Manikganj, near Dhaka, early on Tuesday, and a driver was killed when a parked bus was set on fire, the country's leading newspapers reported, according to AP. In Dhaka, crude bombs exploded over the three days, including at the Dhaka University campus and at the premises of a court on Tuesday, with two people injured. Several vehicles were also torched.

Police spokesman Mohammad Akhtar Hossain said at least 33 people were arrested on Monday in Dhaka and more arrests were made elsewhere, AP reported. He said seven crude bombs were recovered during search operations and two motorcycles used in the attacks were seized in Dhaka, and that security has been increased across the city.

Border guards deployed in Gopalganj after a police vehicle was torched

In Gopalganj, the Border Guard Bangladesh deployed three platoons on Tuesday to maintain law and order after clashes, arson and crude-bomb explosions in the district, The Business Standard reported. The deployment followed a clash in Tungipara on Tuesday morning in which a police vehicle was set on fire during a procession by activists of the activities-banned Chhatra League, the student wing long tied to the Awami League. Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Habibullah said police arrested eight people, seized seven motorcycles and recovered 15 unexploded crude bombs in connection with the incidents, TBS reported. Bombs had also been detonated the previous night near Gopalganj District School, the Government Women's College and the passport office, and activists blocked the Dhaka-Khulna Highway at Betgram by setting fires, according to TBS.

Background: the violence coincided with reports that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina plans to return from exile next month, though any connection remained unclear, AP reported. Hasina has been in India since August 5, 2024, when she fled as a student-led mass uprising ended her 15-year rule; a special tribunal sentenced her to death in 2025 for ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters. On Monday she requested a new passport to facilitate her return, saying she wants to come back voluntarily in December despite the sentence. The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman dismissed the emailed passport request, saying she must apply in person, and Dhaka has been seeking her extradition from India.

What happens next: police say searches and arrests are continuing and security has been stepped up across Dhaka, while the BGB deployment in Gopalganj is meant to hold law and order after Tuesday's clashes. Whether the attacks were centrally directed — and by whom — remains unproven in the police's own public account, which so far names no group.