This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/asia/in-bangladesh-a-second-foreigner-is-violently-killed.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
In Bangladesh, a Second Foreigner Is Violently Killed In Bangladesh, a Second Foreigner Is Violently Killed
(about 7 hours later)
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A Japanese man was killed by two unidentified gunmen in northern Bangladesh on Saturday, less than a week after a similar killing of an Italian aid worker here in the capital was claimed by the Islamic State group. DHAKA, Bangladesh — A Japanese man was killed by two unidentified gunmen in northern Bangladesh on Saturday morning, less than a week after the killing of an Italian aid worker prompted fears that foreign nationals will become the target of extremist violence. The police said the man, Kunio Hoshi, 66, was shot three times while riding a rickshaw to a plot of land where he had been cultivating grass.
The police said the man, Hoshi Kunio, 66, was shot three times while riding a rickshaw to a plot of land where he had been cultivating grass. A suspected Islamic State account released a statement online claiming responsibility for Mr. Hoshi’s killing, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors radical Islamic websites.
The gunmen, who were on foot and had covered their faces, fled the scene with a third man who was waiting on a motorcycle, said Rezaul Karim, an officer in charge in Kawnia, in the Rangpur district, which is about 200 miles north of Dhaka, the capital. Mr. Kunio died on the way to the hospital. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the killing of Cesare Tavella, 50, in Dhaka on Monday.
Mr. Karim said it was too early to speculate on a motive in the killing. He said that the authorities had detained three people for questioning, but that the three men who fled on the motorcycle were still at large. Bangladeshi authorities said they could not confirm the claim.
In recent months there has been a heightened wariness about extremist violence in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has porous air, land and maritime borders that could make it a transit point for terrorists, but its people have traditionally practiced a moderate form of Islam, and its governing party, the Awami League, is adamantly secular. The gunmen, who were on foot and had covered their faces, fled the scene of Mr. Hoshi’s killing with a third man who was waiting on a motorcycle, said Rezaul Karim, an officer in charge in Kaunia, in Rangpur District, about 200 miles north of Dhaka. Mr. Hoshi died on the way to the hospital.
However, a grim pattern of targeted assassinations has taken shape this year. Four activists who had published commentaries against fundamentalist Islam on social media have been murdered in identical, gory fashion, surrounded by young men and killed with cleavers. The leader of Al Qaeda’s branch on the Indian subcontinent claimed responsibility for several of the killings. Mr. Karim said it was too early to speculate on a motive for the killing. He said the authorities had detained three people for questioning, but the three men who fled on the motorcycle were still at large.
Foreign governments have recently expressed new fears that their citizens might be singled out by militants. After learning of the crime, police officials in Dhaka held a two-hour meeting on Saturday to discuss measures to protect foreign nationals in Bangladesh and were ordered to increase visible policing across the country, a police official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.
Last week, after Australia’s cricket team postponed a planned trip to Bangladesh over such fears, Foreign Ministry officials said they had intelligence suggesting a threat to Australian interests. British authorities on Monday warned their officials to “limit attendance at events where Westerners may gather.” In recent months there has been a heightened wariness of extremist violence in Bangladesh. The country has porous land, air and maritime borders that could make it a transit point for terrorists, but extremism has been uncommon, and the governing party, the Awami League, is adamantly secular.
Hours later, unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle killed the Italiana aid worker, Cesare Tavella, 50, while he was on an evening jog in the city’s diplomatic quarter. Mr. Tavella was a project manager for a nongovernmental organization that works to alleviate poverty in South Asia. However, a grim pattern of targeted assassinations has taken shape this year. Four activists who had published commentaries against fundamentalist Islam on social media have been murdered in identical, gory fashion by cleavers, surrounded by young men. The leader of Al Qaeda’s branch on the Indian subcontinent claimed responsibility for several of the killings.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors radical Islamic websites, said that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, issued a statement later the same day saying “soldiers of the Caliphate in Bangladesh” had followed “the crusader foreigner” along the street and killed him with silenced weapons. Foreign governments have recently expressed new concerns that their citizens might be singled out by militants.
Police officials in Dhaka said that Mr. Tavella’s killing appeared to have been premeditated, but they could not confirm that the Islamic State had ordered it or carried it out. They have made no arrests in the case. Last Monday, British authorities warned their officials to “limit attendance at events where Westerners may gather.”
Hours later, unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle killed the Italian aid worker, Mr. Tavella, while he was on an evening jog in the city’s diplomatic quarter. Mr. Tavella was a project manager for a nongovernmental organization that works to alleviate poverty in South Asia.
The Islamic State online account said “soldiers of the caliphate in Bangladesh” had followed “the crusader foreigner” along the street and killed Mr. Tavella with silenced weapons, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
On Thursday, after Australia’s cricket team postponed a planned trip to Bangladesh, Australian Foreign Ministry officials said they had intelligence suggesting a threat to the country’s interests. And the United States has prohibited its government personnel from attending “large gatherings” or traveling “on foot, motorcycle, bicycle, rickshaw or other uncovered means on all public thoroughfares and sidewalks” without permission. Japan’s embassy in Dhaka has warned its citizens about Saturday’s killing and advised them to “exercise a greater level of vigilance for the interest of their own security,” according to Takeshi Matsunaga, the deputy chief of mission.
The U.S. ambassador, Marcia S. Bernicat, released a statement on Saturday urging the Bangladeshi government to “investigate every aspect of this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.”
Police officials in Dhaka have made no arrests in Mr. Tavella’s killing.