Five policemen were wounded in a brief exchange of fire with suspected militants in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Saturday night, an official said.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) official said a suspected female militant was also injured during the fire trading.

Acting on information about presence of militants in Dhaka's Azimpur area, the police official said security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation there.

As the law enforcers zeroed in on their target, the official who did not like to be named said militants fired at security forces that retaliated and in the ensuing exchange of fire, five policemen were wounded.

"Two more male militant suspects were also arrested following the operation," said the official.

No further details were immediately available.