ICC Note:
The wave of murders perpetrated by Islamic militants continues in Bangladesh. On Friday, a Hindu priest was hacked to death by unidentified assailants using the hit and run tactics now typical to Islamic militants in Bangladesh. Over 40 individuals have been murdered in a similar fashion with the militants targeting religious minorities, secular bloggers, academics, and gay rights activists. Christians have also been targeted in this wave of terror. ISIS and al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for the murders, but the Bangladesh government has so far disputed this.
7/1/2016 Bangladesh (Christian Today) – A Hindu priest was hacked to death in Bangladesh on Friday, the latest in a spate of violent killings in the country.
Shaymanonda Das, 45, was killed in front of a temple in Jhinaidah district headquarter, 300km south west of the capital Dhaka.
Police said they do not know the motive behind the killing, and no one has been arrested.
“He [Das] was preparing morning prayers with flowers at the temple early in the morning and that time three young people came by a motor bike and killed him with machetes and fled away,” Mahbubur Rahman, the chief of Jhenaidah district administration, told Reuters.
“The nature of killing was similar with the local militants, but we cannot say more at the moment.”
As many as 40 people have been killed over the last three years by Islamist extremists in Bangladesh, either members of religious minorities or secularist activists. While responsibility for the majority of the killings has been claimed by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, the government has denied that either group is active in the country, blaming home-grown extremists instead.
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