A bomb blast killed one man Sunday in Dhaka as violent clashes broke out between police and hundreds of opposition party activists gathered to mark Bangladesh's 40 years of independence, police said. Police used batons and fired tear gas at the rioting activists who hurled small bombs, torched a police van and four buses as clashes spread across the city, halting rush-hour traffic, Dhaka police spokesman Masud Ahmed said.
The clashes erupted in the morning, as police dispersed supporters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies, coming together in central Dhaka.
"A man aged around 25 was killed on the spot after a small bomb he appeared to have carried exploded. We are investigating the incident," police chief at Motijheel commercial district Tofazzal Hossain told AFP.