At least 18 soldiers have been killed in an exchange of fire between Indian and Bangladeshi border guards at a frontier outpost, according to officials in Dhaka. Local official John F Karshiing Bangladeshi officials say that two of their soldiers died and 16 Indian border guards were killed in the clash at a border outpost in Kurigram.
Correspondents describe it as the worst ever outbreak of fighting between the two countries.
India says Bangladeshi troops overran and occupied a disputed border village near the town of Dauki and are holding more than 20 of its soldiers hostage. Bangladesh said Indian forces launched an early morning attack on their posts in the frontier district of Kurigram - which lies on the border with Indian state of Assam. Two wounded Indian soldiers were captured during the fighting and have been sent to Dhaka for treatment, he said. Indian border guards launched a dawn attack There has been no word as yet from the Indian side confirming the deaths. The Bangladesh foreign ministry is expected to summon the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka to lodge a counter protest.