Bolivia has released 16 Bangladeshis less than a day after they were arrested on suspicion of links to terrorism and Al-Qaeda following a tip of French police. Reports The Daily Star.

Nine of the Bangladeshis were in transit to Buenos Aires, and the other seven were seeking residency in the Andean nation. They were suspected for planning to hijack a plane to attack an American target in Argentina.

From the picture of the Bangladeshis I saw in the local newspapers, they did not look like religious fanatics and more like young people going abroad for a better living. They might have been trying to get into more affluent countries from there and thus their actions were a bit suspicious.

US State Department officials congratulated the Bolivian police for their prompt action. But in reality it turned out to be a hoax. I hope the intelligences would be more accurate in pinpointing the real criminals instead of harassing innocents.