The 13th anniversary of the gruesome August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally was observed in a sombre mood yesterday, reports UNB. Awami League and its associate bodies observed the day across the country through various programmes, including rallies, discussions and special prayers, doa and milad mahfil.

AL arranged a discussion at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the city in the afternoon where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke as the chief guest.

The Prime Minister placed wreaths at a makeshift memorial of martyrs of the gruesome grenade attack set up by Awami League in front of the institution. She first placed a floral wreath at the memorial as the Prime Minister and then another, flanked by leaders of Awami League, as the party president.

On August 21, 2004, 24 leaders and workers of AL and its associate bodies, including the then Mohila AL president Ivy Rahman, wife of late President Zillur Rahman, were killed and over 500 others suffered splinter injuries in the attack and many of them became crippled for life.

Though Sheikh Hasina, who was the main target of the attack, narrowly escaped the attack, she lost her hearing ability due to the impact of the repeated grenade blasts near the truck-dais of the huge public rally.

At least 13 grenades were thrown from the rooftops of a nearby building soon after Sheikh Hasina had finished her speech at the rally.