The wife of a top police official known for leading raids against Islamist militants in Bangladesh has been murdered. In a separate attack on the same day, a Christian man has been hacked to death.
A relative consoles Khanam's children following her deathImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Str
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Brutal attacks in Bangladesh killed two people on Sunday, police reported. Although no group has yet to claim responsibility for the attacks, authorities suspect Islamist militants were behind the killings.
The first attack took place in the coastal city of Chittagong early Sunday morning when at least three men on a motorbike stabbed and shot the wife of an anti-terror police superintendent.
Mahmuda Khanam was walking her son to a school bus stop when the assailants struck.
"The attackers came on a motor-cycle. Her son said she was stabbed first. Then they pointed a pistol near her ear and shot several times," Chittagong Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Moktar Hossain told news agency AFP.
Khanam was the wife of Babul Akter, a police official who led several high-profile operations against the banned Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) militant group in recent months.
No one immediately claimed responsibility on Sunday, but police said jihadists could be behind the murder. "We suspect JMB or local Islamist extremists for the attack. Akter led successful anti-militant raids in Chittagong in which several JMB men were arrested," Hossain said.
Christian grocer in Natore
Also on Sunday, a Christian grocer was hacked to death by unidentified assailants in northwestern Bangladesh's Natore district.
Sunil Gomes, 65, was found by family members lying in a pool of blood following the attack on his grocery store which is located close to a church and a Christian neighborhood, reported Monirul Islam, a local police chief.
Although the motive for the killing is unclear, the attack is similar to those perpetrated against Hindus and other minorities in recent months.
Around 40 people have been killed by jihadists over the past three years, police believe. In recent weeks, attacks claimed the lives of a Hindu trader, a homeopathic doctor and a Buddhist monk.
rs/jm (AP, AFP, Reuters)
The life of a threatened blogger
Islamist fundamentalists have threatened to kill Bangladeshi blogger Ananya Azad for what he writes. In pictures we show how this influences his life.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
Leave to live
Born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Ananya loves his city so much that he doesn't really want to find a new home elsewhere. But he doesn't want to stop writing either. And that makes Bangladesh's capital an unsafe place for the 24-years-old. So, in order to live he has to leave.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
Thoughts are free - speech is not
It is sentences like these that put Ananya's life at risk. The blogger is a "free thinker" - he believes that everyone is allowed to choose whether to believe or not in any religion. For not only thinking, but also writing these thoughts publicly, violent Islamist fundamentalists have threatened his life. After killing three other bloggers in 2015, Ananya was told he was next.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
Self-protection against "justice"
84 bloggers' names were published by the fundamentalists on a hit list - nine have been killed since 2013, many others have stopped writing. As his fellow bloggers were murdered in broad daylight, when Ananya goes outside he wears this helmet. He hopes it means he will be less easily recognizable and will also protect him from sudden machete blows.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
United in their thinking
Those targeted don't always criticize religion or religious involvement in politics; many blog about history or literature or use science-based arguments to analyze the Quran. Bangladesh's secular government has not only failed to protect secular bloggers and effectively prosecute attackers, but has even taken action to censor or block their blogs and to imprison the writers.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
A conflict rooted in history
During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, Bengalis sought independence from Pakistan. Radical Islamist groups fought on the side of the Pakistani Army, many committing atrocities including rape and killings. In 2013, people took to Dhaka's Shahbag Square to demand tougher sanctions for the war criminals. In turn, Islamists published the "hit list", targeting the protest-initiating bloggers.
Image: DW/M. Mamun
Literate heritage
"You will be next, stay safe." It took Ananya some time to understand the meaning of his father's last words. Humayun Azad was also attacked on the streets of Dhaka for writing about an Islamist fundamentalist group having ties to the Pakistani army. When he went into exile to recover, Ananya stayed behind - and started writing himself.
Image: DW/Gönna Ketels
Caged at home - free on his roof
Following repeated threats in recent months, via phone, text messages and social media, Ananya stopped most of his blogging activities and prefers to stay indoors. Moving around in Dhaka means constant fear for Ananya and so the only place outside where he feels almost safe is the rooftop of the house he's living in.
Image: DW/Arafatul Islam
What holds you back?
Even though he's scared, Ananya is determined not to let fear hold him back. He continues writing and defending his freedom of expression against fundamentalists. His book, which addresses issues of gender discrimination and human behavior, is due to be published in 2016. "I am hopeful that one day this country will change," Ananya says.
