250-kilo live bomb found near Dhaka Airport, experts believe bomb from 1971 Indo-Pak war

Dhaka: A 250-kilo live bomb was discovered on Wednesday, buried in a construction site not far from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HISA). Experts believe that the bomb was dropped during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan.

Officials have said that the construction workers had found it while excavating ahead of making the airport's extended terminal.

Once informed, the bomb disposal unit of the Air Force's Bangabandhu Base had arrived to defuse it, said the director of the Airport, Touhdi-ul-Ahsan. It was then taken to Rasulpur Firing Range in Pahakanchanpur for a safe and guided explosion.

"It has been identified to be a 'general purpose' bomb which is dropped from the air to inflict damage on enemy troops, vehicles and buildings," a military bomb expert said.

The Liberation War in 1971 had witnessed the Independence of Bangladesh when Pakistan surrendered to India on December 16. Till then it was known as East Pakistan.

The Bangladesh forces, known as the 'Mukti Bahini' were supported by the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy Aviation Wing in the Eastern Theatre of the Indo-Pakistani conflict of 1971.

The Indian Air Force had helped the Mukti Bahini organise a formation of light aircraft called Kilo Flight which were manned and serviced by Bengali pilots and technicians who had defected from the Pakistani Air Force.

This unit had launched attacks on the targets in Bangladesh on December 3, 1971, prior to the start of formal combat between India and Pakistan, although the first of the engagements between the opposing air powers occurred before the formal declaration of hostilities.

Indian Air Units commenced operations from December 4, 1971, in the Eastern theatre by December.

Tejgaon airport was put out of operation, grounding the PAF in East Pakistan.

Indian units and the kilo flights continued flying missions over Bangladesh until the unconditional surrender of Pakistan Forces to joint Bangladesh and Indian Forces command on December 16, 1971.

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