IS claims murder of Muslim preacher in BD

DHAKA: Islamic State has claimed responsibility for murdering a Muslim preacher in Bangladesh, an online group that monitors extremist activity said on Tuesday, the latest killing declared by the militant group in the South Asian nation.

IS violence has surged in recent months in the Muslim-majority country, but the government has rejected Islamic State’s claims, blaming the violence instead on homegrown militant groups.

The US-based SITE Intelligence Group said Islamic State had claimed to have killed the man late on Monday in Jhenaidah, a district about 161-km west of Dhaka, the capital.

"Soldiers of the caliphate in Bangladesh were able to assassinate the polytheist apostate Hafidh Abdul Razzaq, one of the top preachers for the Rafidha religion," SITE quoted the group as saying.

Anowar Hossain, the officer in charge of the police station handling the case, said he was not aware the killing had been claimed by any militant group.