The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the murder of a Hindu tailor in central Bangladesh on Saturday, a US-based monitoring group said.
Nikhil Chandra Joarder, who was hacked to death by at least two attackers outside his shop, may have been killed for making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed several years ago, police said.
“Elements from the Islamic State assassinated a Hindu in the city of Tangail in Bangladesh by stabbing him to death,” the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said, citing a source, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
“He was known for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad,” Amaq added in the Arabic-language message.
Police officials said they were investigating whether the killing was linked to Islamist militants or tied to a family dispute.
“They came on a motorcycle and attacked him as he sat on a roadside,” deputy chief of Tangail district police Aslam Khan said. “They hacked him on his head, neck and hand.”
