10 Die in Bangladesh Bombings

At least four bombs exploded in a packed movie house and a crowded circus show Saturday in southwestern Bangladesh, killing at least 10 people and injuring an additional 200, local police said.

The death toll was expected to increase, a police official in the town of Satkhira said on condition of anonymity.

However, the national police headquarters in Dhaka, the capital, said it could confirm only that 40 people were injured and 27 were taken to hospitals. “There have still been no detailed reports about the number of dead,” a statement said.

Two bombs went off at the packed Roxie Cinema Hall, a movie theater in Satkhira, 110 miles southwest of Dhaka.

Within minutes and a few blocks away, two more bombs blew up in a circus show at a stadium in the town center, the officer said.

Two men suspected in the bombings were detained today, Satkhira Police Chief Rafiqul Islam said. He did not identify them.

The motive remained unknown, but Abdul Matin Chowdhury, the area’s chief government administrator, said suspicion fell on Islamic fundamentalists who recently demonstrated against the theater and circus in the belief that such entertainment is immoral.

Hospitals and health centers were overwhelmed by the arrivals of those injured, United News of Bangladesh news agency reported.

The authorities deployed nearly 1,000 police and paramilitary troops to patrol the small town.