Police stated unidentified attackers murdered the 65–yr–old in the village of Bonpara, home to one of theoldest Christian groups in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. “Sunil Gomes became hacked to death at his grocerysave simply close to a church at Bonpara village,” stated Shafiqul Islam, deputy police leader of Natore district.
Isis claimed responsibility for the murder via its Amaq information business enterprise, in keeping withthe Web site monitoring organization, announcing it became “part of a sequence of operations” in Bangladesh.
The killing came hours after the wife of a senior anti-terrorism officer changed into murdered within thesoutheastern city of Chittagong by using suspected members of a banned nearby extremistinstitution.Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of murders of secular and liberal activists, and religiousminorities, that have left more than 40 human beings dead in 3 years. Government have blamed homegrown Islamists for the assaults, that have spiked in current weeks, rejecting claims of obligation from Isis and a South Asia branch of al-Qaida.
Bangladesh’s secular authorities has accused political rivals which includes the largest Islamistcelebration, Jamaat-e-Islami, of looking to destabilise the u . S . A .. Specialists say a central authoritycrackdown on opponents, such as a ban on Jamaat following an extended political crisis, has pushedmany in the direction of extremism.
An investigating officer, Inspector Abdur Razzak, stated the motive for the cutting-edge killing wasdoubtful, however it became just like those of Hindus and contributors of different non secularminorities in current months.
Father Bikash Hubert Rebeiro, from the Bonpara Catholic church, said Gomes, whose brother is a clergyman, used to paintings as a gardener on the church and become “acknowledged for his humility”.
“He attended Sunday prayers at my church and then went to his grocery shop. The next factor werecognize he changed into hacked to demise,” Rebeiro said. “I can’t imagine how every body can kill such an innocent man.”
Hours earlier than Gomes turned into killed, 3 unidentified guys stabbed after which shot Mahmuda Begumin the head as she walked her son to a school bus stop close to her domestic, said Chittagong deputy police commissioner Moktar Hossain. Begum turned into the spouse of Babul Akter, who led severaloperations against the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh militant institution in Chittagong in latestmonths.
“We suspect JMB or nearby Islamist extremists for the assault,” Hossain stated. “Akter led successful anti-militant raids in Chittagong in which numerous JMB men have been arrested.”Bangladesh’s home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, stated the assault become revenge for Akter’s role in tracking down militants. “Babul Akter is a skilled and sincere officer who performed important roles in fighting militants,” he stated. “That’s why they killed his spouse as they could not find him.”
A Hindu dealer became hacked to demise closing week, days after a homoeopathic health practitionerbecame murdered together with a Buddhist monk. On Sunday, Isis claimed responsibility for the monk’shomicide, with Amaq saying its warring parties killed him at a Buddhist temple inside the far off southeast. The organization had formerly claimed obligation for the homicide of the Hindu trader.
As a minimum 10 humans had been killed with the aid of suspected Islamist militants within the final 10 weeks. An Italian-born Catholic priest changed into shot and severely injured inside the north final yr – anassault later claimed by means of Isis. Unknown attackers also attempted to kill a pastor in some othernorth-western city.
