Dhaka - Convoys of army troops Friday entered the headquarters of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to search for missing army officers, while police arrested more than 200 border troops involved in a mutiny against their commanders two days ago.

"The army entered the compound with the prime minister's permission to join the ongoing search," said Home Minister Sahara Khatun, who visited the central Dhaka BDR headquarters after the troops' surrender on Thursday.

Several thousands residents and relatives of the missing officers were seen waiting anxiously outside the compound as the rescue teams searched inside.

Police recovered as many as 21 bodies from inside the BDR premises and adjacent areas, including storm sewage pipes.

Meanwhile, police launched a drive to arrest mutineers who fled the headquarters after the rebellion despite the prime minister offering a general amnesty.

About 200 soldiers were arrested by Friday morning, with police saying they would face charges of killing, looting and taking hostage civilians and commanders as well as violating the chain of command.

The rebellion ended late Thursday with the surrender of the mutineers, 35 hours after shootings by the soldiers that left scores of army officers dead.

The army could not confirm how many of its officers were killed, but survivors said more than 100 were still missing.

The mutiny began Wednesday morning at an annual meeting to allow soldiers to air their grievances to their officers.

Several hundred enlisted men, enraged over a pay dispute and alleged repression and corruption by the commanders of the 67,000-strong force, took the officers hostage and then took control the 2.6-square-kilometre compound, located in a densely populated residential area of Dhaka.

"The chief, deputy chief and other senior officers were killed on the spot when the unruly soldiers spread bullets on them at the beginning of the conference on Wednesday," said Lieutenant Colonel Syed Kamruzzaman, one of the survivors.

"As I received a bullet, the attackers thought I was dead and they left me, then I crawled up to the washroom for shelter, no others present could manage to escape," he said.

"Peace has been restored, with all the soldiers surrendering arms and ammunitions to the armoury," Khatun told reporters after the formal surrender following negotiations between the government and the rebelling troops with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed warning they would face tough action if they refused to lay down their weapons. (dpa)