The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack was an attempt to kill Sheikh Hasina, the then-former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, on August 21, 2004. The attack left at least 23 dead and injured many others, including Hasina.
Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina had been speaking at a rally protesting blasts against the party’s workers in Sylhet. The rally drew a crowd of 15,000 people.[1] As Hasina finished her speech, a total of 13 grenades were thrown into the crowd from the rooftops of nearby buildings,[2] killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 200. Among the dead were Hasina’s bodyguard and Awami League Women's Affairs Secretary Ivy Rahman.
The Awami League called for a massive hartal the day after the attacks.[3]
Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami (HUJI) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan was arrested for the grenade attacks in 2007, and was later charged in connection with it. He reportedly confessed to the attacks in November 2007.[4] He was sentenced to death in December 2008 for attempting to kill Anwar Choudhury in 2004.[5]