Dhaka, Sep 25 (IANS): With due solemnity and religious fervour, Muslims across Bangladesh on Friday celebrated Eid, also known as the festival of animal sacrifice.

Before sacrificing animals in the name of the almighty, Muslims offered special prayers seeking divine blessings, peace, progress and prosperity at tens of thousands of Eid congregations in the country.

The main Eid congregation in Dhaka was held on Friday morning at the national Eidgah (ground specified for offering Eid prayers) where Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and ministers, lawmakers and society elite said their prayers, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Eid festival is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of the lunar Islamic calendar, after holy Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

Some six million animals, mostly cows and goats, will be reportedly sacrificed during this year's Eid festival, helping tanners in procuring more than 40 percent of their annual raw hide collection.