One dead, three injured as man attacks with knife at Dhaka airport

An Ansar member has been killed and three other security personnel have been injured in a knife attack at the Dhaka airport.

A knife-wielding man attacked security staff posted at the entrance to the departure lounge on Sunday evening, said officials at the Shahjalal International Airport.

The attack left passengers at Bangladesh's main airport gripped with panic, witnesses said.

The attacker has been detained, but officials did not reveal his identity. The motive is yet to be known.

"Two Ansar personnel and two APBn members came under attack. They had been taken to the Kurmitola General Hospital. One of the Ansar members' condition is critical" said Rashedul Islam, the chief of APBn unit posted at the airport, told bdnews 24.com around 7:30pm.

Around 9pm, Dhaka Metropolitan Ansar's North zone chief Ibrahim Bhuiyan confirmed that Ansar member Sohag Ali had succumbed to his injuries.

"The other Ansar member has been transferred to the Combined Military Hospital. Doctors said his condition was also critical," he told bdnews24.com.

An official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh's security wing said the attacker first stabbed an Ansar member on the stomach.

He then struck an APBn member on the head before barging into the departure area, the official told bdnews24.com, asking not to be named.

A witness said the knife-wielding man started to run around the departure area. "The security forces were startled at first, but managed to nailed him down.