Eid Bangladesh attack: At least four killed in bomb and shooting attack at country's largest Eid prayer gathering

It came days after Isis militants massacred 22 people at a cafe in Dhaka

Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers in front of the National Eid Prayer Ground at the High-Court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 07 July (EPA)

At least four people have been killed and several injured in a bombing and shooting attack at the largest gathering for Eid prayers in Bangladesh.

An estimated 200,000 people had gathered at the “Eidgah” in Sholakia on Thursday morning when militants hurled homemade bombs at police and started a gun battle.

Graphic footage showed a young man being carried through the crowds unconscious and covered in blood.

Two police officers and at least two others died, according to local reports, and one suspected attacker was captured by security forces.

“They threw a bomb at a police checkpost. A police constable was killed in the explosion. One attacker was killed and another was arrested,” Mahbubur Rahman, a police official, told AFP.

Police cordoned off the area and searched the devotees as well as nearby houses for suspects in hiding, said resident Shafiqul Islam, who was among those offering Eid prayers.

It was the second terror attack to hit the country in a week, after Isis militants massacred 22 people at a café in Dhaka.

The so-called Islamic State said it was targeting “crusaders” in the capital city after gunmen separated foreigners and ordered Muslims to recite verses from the Quran, killing anyone who could not.

Italian, Japanese, Indian, American and Bangladeshi citizens were among those murdered in the attack, which marked a significant escalation following three years of increasingly frequent machete attacks on secularists, religious minorities, academics and LGBT activists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack, but the government insisted it was carried out by domestic militants fighting to destabilize Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government and establish Islamic rule in the Muslim-majority nation.

“It is a totally political move. They are out to destabilize the government. It is a political attack to oust and topple the secular government of Sheikh Hasina,” information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.

The Bangladeshi government has persistently denied the involvement of Isis, al-Qaeda or other foreign terror organisations in recent attacks, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A new Isis propaganda video released on Wednesday threatened more attacks in Bangladesh, where the group announced its expansion last year.