The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on worshippers at a Shiite mosque in northern Bangladesh that killed one and wounded three others, the US-based monitoring organisation SITE said Friday.
The attackers entered the mosque in Shibganj, some 200 miles (125 kilometres) north of Dhaka, during early evening prayers on Thursday and opened fire on the gathered worshippers before fleeing.
Television footage showed the heavily guarded Shiite mosque with broken windows and blood stains on the floor.
Police said the muezzin had been killed and three worshippers wounded in the shooting, a rare attack on minority Shiite Muslims in the mainly Sunni nation.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity, said on its website that the Islamic State (IS) group had claimed responsibility in a message posted on Twitter.
Bangladesh authorities have previously said there is no evidence that IS militants are active in the country.
However, the group has claimed a series of attacks in Bangladesh, including the shooting and wounding of an Italian priest and the killing of a Sufi Muslim shrine chief, both this month.
Security had been stepped up across the country after two top opposition leaders were hanged on Sunday following their conviction for war crimes committed during the 1971 independence conflict against Pakistan.
"We have picked up two Sunni locals for interrogation in connection to the shootout," Shibganj police chief Ahsan Habib told AFP early Friday of the mosque attack, adding no arrests had yet been made.
The attackers struck a day after police shot dead a top Islamist militant accused of hurling grenades at the country's main Shiite shrine in the capital Dhaka last month, killing two people.
The bombing was believed to be the first attack on Shiites in Bangladesh, though banned Islamist militant groups have killed more than a dozen Sufi Muslims and attacked Hindus and Christians in the last two years.
AFP
Fri Nov 27 2015
Blood stains are seen on the floor of a Shiite mosque after a shooting in Bogra, some 200 kms from the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on November 26, 2015. - AFP pic
AWANI Ringkas: Agihan RM0.67 bilion
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Bedah siasat: PSM libatkan jururunding, kontraktor padang SNBJ
Perbadanan Stadium Malaysia akan mengadakan mesyuarat 'post mortem' bersama juruperunding dan kontraktor padang Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil (SNBJ) minggu hadapan.
Pelapor Khas PBB kumpul bukti genosid Israel diugut
Pelapor Khas PBB mendedahkan beliau menerima ugutan ketika cuba mengumpulkan bukti genosid dilakukan Israel di Genting Gaza.
Keliling kampung, ketuk buluh kejut penduduk bersahur
Pasukan gerak sahur di Teluk Bahang di sini masih mengejutkan penduduk di kawasan itu untuk bangun bersahur walaupun sudah dua minggu umat Islam berpuasa.
PADU: Kerajaan perlu lebih fokus mengenai cara untuk mempertingkatkan keyakinan - Pakar
Kerajaan perlu lebih fokus mengenai cara untuk mempertingkatkan keyakinan pengguna untuk memastikan pendaftaran sistem PADU berjaya.
7,348 kes jenayah komersial direkod hingga Mac, kerugian lebih RM770 juta
Belum sampai tiga bulan, polis sudah merekodkan 7,348 kes jenayah komersial melibatkan kerugian lebih RM770 juta.
Pihak berkuasa pelabuhan Singapura siasat insiden jambatan di Baltimore runtuh
Penguasa Maritim dan Pelabuhan Singapura akan menjalankan siasatan susulan insiden Jambatan Francis Scott Key di Baltimore, Maryland runtuh.
Kahwini warga tempatan, jadi dalang sindiket pekerja asing
Dua warga asing yang mengahwini rakyat tempatan dan menjadi dalang sindiket pekerja asing terbongkar selepas dicekup di Jalan Duta, di sini, pada Rabu.
Raja Permaisuri Agong berkenan agih bubur lambuk di Kampong Bharu
Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah hari ini berkenan berangkat ke Majlis Pengagihan Bubur Lambuk di Masjid Jamek Kampong Bharu.
Kemarau: Kerajaan Kelantan gali 100 telaga tiub bantu pesawah
Kerajaan Kelantan akan menggali 100 buah telaga tiub bagi mengatasi masalah kekurangan bekalan air yang menghantui pesawah di negeri ini akibat kemarau.