Bangladesh bans Peace TV after attacks

Bangladesh moved to counter a deadly wave of attacks on Sunday, ordering a television station to stop broadcasting and telling schools to report any missing students.

The measures come after several suspected extremists were reported to be fans of the television channel, while others were found to be from elite universities but had been missing for months.

A Bangladesh cabinet committee decided to ban Peace TV from the country, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu told journalists Sunday.

The station is run by Indian doctor-turned-preacher Zakir Naik, the founder and president of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the day called on every school, college and university to "create a list of absent students and publish it".

Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities.

"We will be rigorous," the premier said. "We must uproot militancy and terrorism from Bangladesh."