Over 70 dead in anti-drug operation

More than 70 people have been killed by security forces in Bangladesh as part of a government antidrug operation launched this month, officials say.

Authorities said largescale raids have taken place in the capital, Dhaka. Up to 100 people were detained on Saturday and several others suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade were shot in clashes. Activists have compared the crackdown to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s own deadly war on drugs. Since the operation was launched in Bangladesh, several thousand people have been detained, according to police.