On Monday, the government barred 40 suspects from leaving the country. They included Abdul Quader Mollah and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, both assistant secretary-generals of Jamaat-e-Islami. The two were arrested on Tuesday from the premises of the High Court in Dhaka when they went there to seek bail in advance to avoid arrest, said police official Rezaul Karim.

They were arrested on two charges, including one for genocide involving a 2008 case filed by a person who fought for independence, he said.

The government set up the war crimes tribunal in March to prosecute people accused of collaborating with the Pakistani army in killings and other crimes during the 1971 war that culminated in Bangladesh ceding from Pakistan and winning independence.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed has said the trial will start soon, but no date has been announced..

According to official Bangladesh figures, Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated three million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions more to flee their homes during a bloody nine-month

war.

Police say most of the suspects are from Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the battle for independence and sided with Pakistan. India backed those seeking independence.

Prominent suspects include Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and two top aides, Ali Ahsan Mujahid and Delwar Hossain Saidee, who were arrested last month on different charges.

Jamaat leaders could not be reached immediately on Tuesday for comment, but a July 10 statement by the party accused the government of conspiring against their party and arresting its leaders on politically motivated charges.

The tribunal was pledged by Prime Minister Hasina Wajed's Awami League before it swept general elections in 2008.

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh - then East Pakistan - declared its independence from West Pakistan, following years of perceived political and economic discrimination.