A total of 612 people, including BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men, have been detained in several districts and the capital as the law enforcers launched a weeklong countrywide anti-militant combing operation on Friday.

Apart from the capital, the arrests were reported from Sylhet, Tangail, Kushtia, Brahamanbaria, Rajshahi, Jhenidah, Panchagarh and Sherpur districts.

In the capital, police arrested 177 people in the clampdown on the militants launched in the wake of recent secret killings, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

In Sylhet division, police arrested some 171 people in four districts on the first day of the special drive.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (Media) of Sylhet Shugayan Chakma said police arrested 30 from Sylhet, 41 from Moulvibazar, 48 from Habiganj, 42 from Sunamganj and 10 from Sylhet city.

Most of the arrestees were fugitive accused, the ASP added.