Iraqi forces announced that they had successfully liberated Fallujah and many other regions such as central Iraqi&#39;s Ramadi and Rutba at the end of June, accounting for 70 per cent of the overall amount of regions that had been taken over by extremists. 
 
The Iraqi troops have been focused on clearing explosives such as the landmines which the Islamic State (IS) group left behind in those recaptured areas in the west of Iraq, such as Al Anbar Province and Fallujah. The troops have also continued to crackdown on extremists in north Iraq&#39;s Salah ad Din Province and the southern areas of Nineveh province. 
 
According to Faleh al-Fayad, the Iraqi National Security adviser, currently military action in the western and northern regions is moving smoothly. Once the military mission ends in the Al Anbar Province, the Prime Minister and commander in chief of the Armed Forces Dr Haider Al-Abadi will redeploy forces to support the future recapture of the northern Iraqi&#39;s Mosul. 
 
&quot;After the Iraqi government completely recaptures the entire Al Anbar Province and relieves the threat in the western area of Iraqi&#39;s capital Baghdad, the entire armed forces will face redeployed into other regions. This will provide a sufficient back-up military force for the commander in chief of the armed forces,&quot; said Faleh al-Fayad, Iraqi national security adviser. 
 
Official figures showed that the Iraqi territories that were occupied and controlled under the IS accounted for 42 per cent of the total areas, but with the continuously increasing number of recaptured regions, the figure has dropped to less than 15 per cent. 
 
&quot;As the Iraqi defense minister noted, I believe the territories that are occupied by (IS) account for less than 15 per cent of the total area, and these regions mainly distributed in the Nineveh province, the desert area of the border between Iraq and Syria and partial areas in Al Anbar Province. And these figures continue to fall each month,&quot; said Faleh al-Fayad. 
 
(Reuters)

The Iraqi national security adviser believes that the current military action in the western and northern regions is moving smoothly

Iraqi forces announced that they had successfully liberated Fallujah and many other regions such as central Iraqi's Ramadi and Rutba at the end of June, accounting for 70 per cent of the overall amount of regions that had been taken over by extremists. The Iraqi troops have been focused on clearing explosives such as the landmines which the Islamic State (IS) group left behind in those recaptured areas in the west of Iraq, such as Al Anbar Province and Fallujah. The troops have also continued to crackdown on extremists in north Iraq's Salah ad Din Province and the southern areas of Nineveh province. According to Faleh al-Fayad, the Iraqi National Security adviser, currently military action in the western and northern regions is moving smoothly. Once the military mission ends in the Al Anbar Province, the Prime Minister and commander in chief of the Armed Forces Dr Haider Al-Abadi will redeploy forces to support the future recapture of the northern Iraqi's Mosul. "After the Iraqi government completely recaptures the entire Al Anbar Province and relieves the threat in the western area of Iraqi's capital Baghdad, the entire armed forces will face redeployed into other regions. This will provide a sufficient back-up military force for the commander in chief of the armed forces," said Faleh al-Fayad, Iraqi national security adviser. Official figures showed that the Iraqi territories that were occupied and controlled under the IS accounted for 42 per cent of the total areas, but with the continuously increasing number of recaptured regions, the figure has dropped to less than 15 per cent. "As the Iraqi defense minister noted, I believe the territories that are occupied by (IS) account for less than 15 per cent of the total area, and these regions mainly distributed in the Nineveh province, the desert area of the border between Iraq and Syria and partial areas in Al Anbar Province. And these figures continue to fall each month," said Faleh al-Fayad. (Reuters)

Iraqi forces announce recapture of 70 per cent of regions occupied by extremists

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday ordered changes to Baghdad security measures, including withdrawing fake bomb detectors from use, after a bombing killed at least 119 people in the city. 
 
The suicide car bombing, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, ripped through a busy shopping in the early hours and also wounded more than 180 people, officials said. 
 
Abadi&#39;s orders highlight one of the longest-running and most grievous flaws in Baghdad security: the continued use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints years after the man who sold them to Iraq was jailed in Britain for fraud. 
 
The premier ordered all security forces to stop using the hand-held devices, which are made of black plastic with a pistol-style grip and a small silver antenna that allegedly detects various materials including explosives. 
 
In reality, they do not detect anything, except by chance. 
 
Abadi also directed that the interior ministry speed up the deployment of the &quot;rapiscan device for searching vehicles&quot; at all entrances to Baghdad - an apparent reference to truck-based scanners from Rapiscan Systems. 
 
He also ordered security personnel manning checkpoints not to use their mobile phones while on duty - a frequent occurrence that reduces the effectiveness of the many checkpoints scattered around Baghdad. 
 
Other measures include stepping up aerial reconnaissance and intelligence efforts, increasing coordination among security forces and reorganising checkpoints in the capital. 
 
It remains to be seen how many of the new measures will in fact be carried out, as changes have been announced by Iraqi authorities before but not implemented on the ground. 
 
(AFP)

The order highlights one of the most grievous flaws in Baghdad security - the continued use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday ordered changes to Baghdad security measures, including withdrawing fake bomb detectors from use, after a bombing killed at least 119 people in the city. The suicide car bombing, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, ripped through a busy shopping in the early hours and also wounded more than 180 people, officials said. Abadi's orders highlight one of the longest-running and most grievous flaws in Baghdad security: the continued use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints years after the man who sold them to Iraq was jailed in Britain for fraud. The premier ordered all security forces to stop using the hand-held devices, which are made of black plastic with a pistol-style grip and a small silver antenna that allegedly detects various materials including explosives. In reality, they do not detect anything, except by chance. Abadi also directed that the interior ministry speed up the deployment of the "rapiscan device for searching vehicles" at all entrances to Baghdad - an apparent reference to truck-based scanners from Rapiscan Systems. He also ordered security personnel manning checkpoints not to use their mobile phones while on duty - a frequent occurrence that reduces the effectiveness of the many checkpoints scattered around Baghdad. Other measures include stepping up aerial reconnaissance and intelligence efforts, increasing coordination among security forces and reorganising checkpoints in the capital. It remains to be seen how many of the new measures will in fact be carried out, as changes have been announced by Iraqi authorities before but not implemented on the ground. (AFP)

Iraq PM orders security changes after Baghdad bombing

A slaughter of foreign hostages has put Bangladesh firmly on the frontline of the global war on terror, despite government efforts to portray a campaign of attacks as the work of domestic opponents, according to analysts. 
 
Several dozen people have been killed by jihadists in Bangladesh in the last two years, the victims including mainly local atheist bloggers, Hindus, gay activists and liberal academics. 
 
But while those attacks generated few column inches beyond Bangladesh, this weekend&#39;s hostage siege in a Dhaka cafe led news bulletins around the world, attracting the kind of attention its perpetrators had long been craving. 
 
Analysts said the choice of venue, target, timing and method of killing were all designed to maximise publicity for jihadists who were well aware of the outrage that greeted recent massacres in Orlando and Paris. 
 
Eighteen of the 20 civilians who were killed in the Holey Artisan Bakery were foreigners. Nearly all were hacked to death with machetes, even though the hostage-takers had plenty of firearms. 
 
The attack was even more shocking as it came on the final weekend of Ramadan, with survivors describing how the hostage-takers made clear their targets were non-Muslims, separating locals from the foreigners. 
 
Around 90 per cent of Bangladesh&#39;s 160 million people are Muslims, but the state is officially secular. 
 
&quot;By hacking people to death... they wanted to show the world that they can go to any extent for jihad,&quot; said K G Suresh, a senior fellow at New Delhi&#39;s Vivekananda International Foundation think-tank. 
 
&quot;Once they attack a restaurant popular with foreigners on a Friday night their message is clear who they want to go after. By sparing Muslims, they wanted to send out the message that they are only against Westerners.&quot; 
 
According to the monitoring group SITE, the Islamic State organisation claimed responsibility for the attack which it said had targetted &quot;citizens of crusader states&quot;. 
 
But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina&#39;s secular government has long insisted neither IS nor Al-Qaeda have gained a foothold in Bangladesh despite both groups claiming many previous attacks. 
 
That line was reiterated by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who told AFP that six gunmen killed at the end of the siege were members of Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh, a domestic group which has been banned for a decade. 
 
He denied any link with IS, but analysts said that stretched credibility. 
 
Taj Hashmi, a Bangladeshi who teaches security studies at the Austin Peay State University in the US, said there could be &quot;no ambiguity&quot; that the attack was the work of IS. 
 
&quot;Bangladesh must admit that international Islamist networks are actively engaged in killing people in the country and they are not through yet,&quot; said Hashmi. 
 
Mubashar Hasan, an expert on political Islam at Dhaka&#39;s Liberal Arts University, said the attack was not merely a local difficulty but was the latest in a line that stretched back to the bombings in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. 
 
&quot;This is Bangladesh&#39;s 9/11. Bangladesh has now entered into the global war on terror,&quot; Hasan told AFP. 
 
Critics have said the violence stems from the government&#39;s refusal to allow its opponents to operate freely in the political mainstream. 
 
&#39;Lack of democracy&#39; 
 
Bangladesh&#39;s main Islamist party has been banned and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. 
 
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia is facing a string of court cases for her role in violent anti-government protests. 
 
Zia&#39;s party boycotted the 2014 general election after Hasina refused to allow it to be overseen by a neutral caretaker government as in the past, and Hasan said growing extremism was an inevitable consequence. 
 
&quot;A dysfunctional state and lack of democracy made it fertile ground for terrorism,&quot; said Hasan. 
 
The columnist Zafar Sohban urged the government to end &quot;its state of denial&quot;. 
 
&quot;It cannot continue to bury its head in the sand about the clear and convincing evidence of transnational links to domestic terror groups and operations,&quot; he wrote in the Dhaka Tribune. 
 
Subhash Agrawal of the Delhi-based India Focus political risk consultancy, said the recent arrests of thousands of Bangladeshis that the government says was organised to eradicate extremism had been counter-productive. 
 
&quot;She has been focusing on her political opponents and going after Begum Khaleda Zia&#39;s people while turning a blind eye to the alarming political and social polarisation in her country,&quot; Agrawal told AFP. 
 
&quot;Arresting so many people is simply stupid.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has long insisted that neither IS or Al-Qaeda have gained a foothold in Bangladesh

A slaughter of foreign hostages has put Bangladesh firmly on the frontline of the global war on terror, despite government efforts to portray a campaign of attacks as the work of domestic opponents, according to analysts. Several dozen people have been killed by jihadists in Bangladesh in the last two years, the victims including mainly local atheist bloggers, Hindus, gay activists and liberal academics. But while those attacks generated few column inches beyond Bangladesh, this weekend's hostage siege in a Dhaka cafe led news bulletins around the world, attracting the kind of attention its perpetrators had long been craving. Analysts said the choice of venue, target, timing and method of killing were all designed to maximise publicity for jihadists who were well aware of the outrage that greeted recent massacres in Orlando and Paris. Eighteen of the 20 civilians who were killed in the Holey Artisan Bakery were foreigners. Nearly all were hacked to death with machetes, even though the hostage-takers had plenty of firearms. The attack was even more shocking as it came on the final weekend of Ramadan, with survivors describing how the hostage-takers made clear their targets were non-Muslims, separating locals from the foreigners. Around 90 per cent of Bangladesh's 160 million people are Muslims, but the state is officially secular. "By hacking people to death... they wanted to show the world that they can go to any extent for jihad," said K G Suresh, a senior fellow at New Delhi's Vivekananda International Foundation think-tank. "Once they attack a restaurant popular with foreigners on a Friday night their message is clear who they want to go after. By sparing Muslims, they wanted to send out the message that they are only against Westerners." According to the monitoring group SITE, the Islamic State organisation claimed responsibility for the attack which it said had targetted "citizens of crusader states". But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has long insisted neither IS nor Al-Qaeda have gained a foothold in Bangladesh despite both groups claiming many previous attacks. That line was reiterated by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who told AFP that six gunmen killed at the end of the siege were members of Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh, a domestic group which has been banned for a decade. He denied any link with IS, but analysts said that stretched credibility. Taj Hashmi, a Bangladeshi who teaches security studies at the Austin Peay State University in the US, said there could be "no ambiguity" that the attack was the work of IS. "Bangladesh must admit that international Islamist networks are actively engaged in killing people in the country and they are not through yet," said Hashmi. Mubashar Hasan, an expert on political Islam at Dhaka's Liberal Arts University, said the attack was not merely a local difficulty but was the latest in a line that stretched back to the bombings in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. "This is Bangladesh's 9/11. Bangladesh has now entered into the global war on terror," Hasan told AFP. Critics have said the violence stems from the government's refusal to allow its opponents to operate freely in the political mainstream. 'Lack of democracy' Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been banned and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Opposition leader Khaleda Zia is facing a string of court cases for her role in violent anti-government protests. Zia's party boycotted the 2014 general election after Hasina refused to allow it to be overseen by a neutral caretaker government as in the past, and Hasan said growing extremism was an inevitable consequence. "A dysfunctional state and lack of democracy made it fertile ground for terrorism," said Hasan. The columnist Zafar Sohban urged the government to end "its state of denial". "It cannot continue to bury its head in the sand about the clear and convincing evidence of transnational links to domestic terror groups and operations," he wrote in the Dhaka Tribune. Subhash Agrawal of the Delhi-based India Focus political risk consultancy, said the recent arrests of thousands of Bangladeshis that the government says was organised to eradicate extremism had been counter-productive. "She has been focusing on her political opponents and going after Begum Khaleda Zia's people while turning a blind eye to the alarming political and social polarisation in her country," Agrawal told AFP. "Arresting so many people is simply stupid." (AFP)

Bangladesh 'in denial' over jihadist attacks: analysts

Bangladesh began observing two days of national mourning today after 20 hostages were slaughtered at a restaurant packed with foreigners in a terrifying escalation of a campaign of attacks by Islamist extremists. 
 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decreed the mourning period as she vowed to drag Bangladesh back from the brink, warning of a concerted bid to turn one of the world&#39;s most populous nations into a failed state. 
 
Amid mass condemnation of the killings in Dhaka, whose victims included 18 foreigners, the Islamic State group said it had targetted a gathering of &quot;citizens of crusader states&quot; on Friday night at a Western-style cafe. 
 
The bodies of the 20 slain hostages were found amid pools of blood after commandos stormed the cafe to end the siege. Two policemen were also shot dead in a fierce gunbattle at its outset. 
 
Six gunmen were shot dead by the commandos at the final stages of the siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe but one of the hostage-takers was taken alive and was being interrogated by Bangladeshi intelligence. 
 
Security officials said most of the victims were slaughtered with sharpened machete-style weapons. 
 
Hasina&#39;s government has previously blamed a string of deadly attacks against religious minorities and foreigners on domestic opponents, but the latest will heighten fears that IS&#39;s reach is spreading. 
 
&quot;Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion,&quot; Hasina said in an impassioned televised address to the nation. 
 
&quot;Please stop tarnishing our noble religion. I implore you to come back to the rightful path and uphold the pride of Islam.&quot; 
 
The 68-year-old premier said the people behind the attacks were trying to ruin Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim nation of 160 million people. 
 
&quot;By holding innocent civilians hostage at gunpoint, they want to turn our nation into a failed state,&quot; she said. 
 
Flags were being flown at half-mast in government offices and at other sites across the country while funerals of the two Bangladeshi victims were expected to be held. 
 
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was among those who expressed outrage, stressing &quot;the need to intensify regional and international efforts to prevent and combat terrorism&quot;. 
 
Agony in Italy 
 
And there was agony in Italy whose government confirmed that nine of its nationals had been killed. 
 
&quot;The terrorists want to rip away the daily fabric of our lives,&quot; said Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. 
 
&quot;Our duty is to reply with even greater force, by affirming our values, the values of freedom of which we are proud, and which are stronger than hatred or terror.&quot; 
 
Seven Japanese nationals were also killed in the attack and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he felt &quot;profound anger that so many innocent people have lost their lives in the cruel and nefarious terrorism&quot;. 
 
US officials said one American citizen was among those killed and the government in New Delhi confirmed that a 19-year-old Indian who was studying at the University of California, Berkeley, had died. 
 
Witnesses recounted how a massive gunfight erupted on Saturday morning as more than 100 commandos launched the rescue operation, nearly 11 hours after the siege began at about 9.30 pm. 
 
Thirteen hostages were rescued in total, some of whom were rushed to a military hospital. 
 
The father of one of the survivors was told by his son how the hostage-takers separated the locals from foreigners. 
 
The attack, by far the deadliest of a recent wave of killings claimed by IS or a local Al-Qaeda offshoot, was carried out in the upmarket Gulshan neighbourhood which is home to the country&#39;s elite and many embassies. 
 
Last month authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence political opponents. 
 
Bangladesh&#39;s main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. 
 
(AFP)

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced two days of mourning as she vowed to do everything to eliminate terrorists from the country

Bangladesh began observing two days of national mourning today after 20 hostages were slaughtered at a restaurant packed with foreigners in a terrifying escalation of a campaign of attacks by Islamist extremists. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decreed the mourning period as she vowed to drag Bangladesh back from the brink, warning of a concerted bid to turn one of the world's most populous nations into a failed state. Amid mass condemnation of the killings in Dhaka, whose victims included 18 foreigners, the Islamic State group said it had targetted a gathering of "citizens of crusader states" on Friday night at a Western-style cafe. The bodies of the 20 slain hostages were found amid pools of blood after commandos stormed the cafe to end the siege. Two policemen were also shot dead in a fierce gunbattle at its outset. Six gunmen were shot dead by the commandos at the final stages of the siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe but one of the hostage-takers was taken alive and was being interrogated by Bangladeshi intelligence. Security officials said most of the victims were slaughtered with sharpened machete-style weapons. Hasina's government has previously blamed a string of deadly attacks against religious minorities and foreigners on domestic opponents, but the latest will heighten fears that IS's reach is spreading. "Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion," Hasina said in an impassioned televised address to the nation. "Please stop tarnishing our noble religion. I implore you to come back to the rightful path and uphold the pride of Islam." The 68-year-old premier said the people behind the attacks were trying to ruin Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim nation of 160 million people. "By holding innocent civilians hostage at gunpoint, they want to turn our nation into a failed state," she said. Flags were being flown at half-mast in government offices and at other sites across the country while funerals of the two Bangladeshi victims were expected to be held. UN chief Ban Ki-moon was among those who expressed outrage, stressing "the need to intensify regional and international efforts to prevent and combat terrorism". Agony in Italy And there was agony in Italy whose government confirmed that nine of its nationals had been killed. "The terrorists want to rip away the daily fabric of our lives," said Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. "Our duty is to reply with even greater force, by affirming our values, the values of freedom of which we are proud, and which are stronger than hatred or terror." Seven Japanese nationals were also killed in the attack and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he felt "profound anger that so many innocent people have lost their lives in the cruel and nefarious terrorism". US officials said one American citizen was among those killed and the government in New Delhi confirmed that a 19-year-old Indian who was studying at the University of California, Berkeley, had died. Witnesses recounted how a massive gunfight erupted on Saturday morning as more than 100 commandos launched the rescue operation, nearly 11 hours after the siege began at about 9.30 pm. Thirteen hostages were rescued in total, some of whom were rushed to a military hospital. The father of one of the survivors was told by his son how the hostage-takers separated the locals from foreigners. The attack, by far the deadliest of a recent wave of killings claimed by IS or a local Al-Qaeda offshoot, was carried out in the upmarket Gulshan neighbourhood which is home to the country's elite and many embassies. Last month authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence political opponents. Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. (AFP)

Bangladesh in mourning after hostage bloodbath

Unidentified attackers stabbed and critically wounded a Hindu priest in southwest Bangladesh on Saturday, just a day after a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death in an attack by suspected Islamist militants. 
 
Police said 48-year-old priest Bhabasindhu Roy of the Sri Sri Radha Gobinda Temple in Satkhira district was attacked inside the temple compound as he slept. 
 
&quot;They stabbed him in his chest and back. His condition is critical and we&#39;re trying to send him to a hospital in Dhaka,&quot; deputy chief of Satkhira police Atqul Haq told AFP. 
 
He said it bore the hallmarks of recent attacks on minorities by suspected Islamist militants. 
 
The attack came just hours after gunmen stormed a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital and took dozens of people hostage including several foreigners. 
 
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday night on the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in Dhaka&#39;s upmarket Gulshan diplomatic quarter in which two police officers were killed. 
 
On Friday a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death in the western Bangladesh district of Jhenaidah. 
 
Three men on a motorcycle attacked Shyamananda Das as he walked along a road near the temple early in the morning, police said. 
 
Last month a Hindu priest, 70-year-old Ananda Gopal Ganguly, was hacked to death in the same district. 
 
Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of murders of secular and liberal activists and religious minorities that have left some 50 people dead in the last three years. 
 
Victims of the attacks by suspected Islamists have included secular bloggers, gay rights activists and followers of minority religions including Hindus, Christians and Muslim Sufis and Shiites. 
 
Since April, more than a dozen people have been hacked to death amid a sharp spike in the targeted killings. 
 
Most of the recent attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State organisation or the South Asian branch of Al-Qaeda. 
 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina&#39;s government, however, has blamed homegrown Islamists for the attacks. 
 
Experts say a government crackdown on opponents, including a ban on the largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami following a protracted political crisis, has pushed many towards extremism. 
 
Last month police arrested more than 11,000 people, including nearly 200 suspected militants, in an anti-Islamist drive criticised by the opposition and some rights groups, which said it was used as an excuse to clamp down on dissent. 
 
At least nine suspected Islamists were shot dead in what police said were gunfights. Some rights activists contradict that account and say they were extrajudicial killings. 
 
(AFP)

The attack comes a day after a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death

Unidentified attackers stabbed and critically wounded a Hindu priest in southwest Bangladesh on Saturday, just a day after a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death in an attack by suspected Islamist militants. Police said 48-year-old priest Bhabasindhu Roy of the Sri Sri Radha Gobinda Temple in Satkhira district was attacked inside the temple compound as he slept. "They stabbed him in his chest and back. His condition is critical and we're trying to send him to a hospital in Dhaka," deputy chief of Satkhira police Atqul Haq told AFP. He said it bore the hallmarks of recent attacks on minorities by suspected Islamist militants. The attack came just hours after gunmen stormed a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital and took dozens of people hostage including several foreigners. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday night on the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in Dhaka's upmarket Gulshan diplomatic quarter in which two police officers were killed. On Friday a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death in the western Bangladesh district of Jhenaidah. Three men on a motorcycle attacked Shyamananda Das as he walked along a road near the temple early in the morning, police said. Last month a Hindu priest, 70-year-old Ananda Gopal Ganguly, was hacked to death in the same district. Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of murders of secular and liberal activists and religious minorities that have left some 50 people dead in the last three years. Victims of the attacks by suspected Islamists have included secular bloggers, gay rights activists and followers of minority religions including Hindus, Christians and Muslim Sufis and Shiites. Since April, more than a dozen people have been hacked to death amid a sharp spike in the targeted killings. Most of the recent attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State organisation or the South Asian branch of Al-Qaeda. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, however, has blamed homegrown Islamists for the attacks. Experts say a government crackdown on opponents, including a ban on the largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami following a protracted political crisis, has pushed many towards extremism. Last month police arrested more than 11,000 people, including nearly 200 suspected militants, in an anti-Islamist drive criticised by the opposition and some rights groups, which said it was used as an excuse to clamp down on dissent. At least nine suspected Islamists were shot dead in what police said were gunfights. Some rights activists contradict that account and say they were extrajudicial killings. (AFP)

Another Hindu priest stabbed, critically wounded in Bangladesh