Shooting , hostage situation in Dhaka , Bangladesh

After the recent terror strike in Istanbul airport that killed 44 people, more disturbing news coming, this time from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Police exchanged gunfire with armed attackers Friday in a diplomatic zone of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Gunmen are holding about 20 people hostage at Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with expats, cafe owner Sumon Reza told CNN. A police officer in charge of a nearby police station was shot dead.

Another report :

Sumon Reza, superviser at the bakery, who escaped the attack, told reporters that at least 20 people were at the bakery when the attack began and all of them were foreigners. He saw two attackers and both of them were slim and appeared to be under 30. He said they had small firearms and at least one was carrying a sharp weapon. He said the attackers were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ when coming into the bakery. Two of the bakery’s staff are also foreigners, he said. One baker, an Italian, had escaped the attack but the other one, an Argentine, could not, according to Reza. His information could not immediately be verified.

Holy month becoming a very violent month?

Islamists again kill a nonconformer in Bangladesh

Attackers wielding machetes have killed a village doctor and wounded his friend, a university tutor, in western Bangladesh, police say.
Mir Sanwar Rahman, known for offering villagers free homeopathic medicines, was hacked to death early on Friday in Kushtia district.
No group has said they carried out the attack.
There has been a spate of murders of religious minorities, secular activists and academics in Bangladesh recently.
Mr Rahman and tutor Mohammad Saifuzzaman were ambushed as they travelled on a motorbike in their village.

More than 20 people have been killed in attacks by suspected Islamists in the last three years.
An elderly Buddhist monk was hacked to death on Saturday while a Hindu priest, two prominent gay activists, a law student and a university professor were also murdered in recent months.
The killings have been blamed on various hardline groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS) and Ansar al-Islam, a Bangladeshi militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda.
The government has denied that IS is present in the country. Instead, it has blamed opposition parties and local Islamist groups, such as Ansarullah Bangla Team and Harkatul Jihad.
The opposition have denied any involvement and say the government’s accusations against them have hampered a credible investigation.

All those killed were nonconformers. They were not strict followers of Sunni Islam. The latest victim, Mir Sanwar Rahman was a follower of Lalon’s philosophy.

[Read more…]

This time they killed editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine

The killings in Bangladesh continue.

Xulhaz Mannan and a friend were hacked to death in Dhaka today at Mannan’s residence. He worked as a protocol officer of former US ambassador Dan Mozena for a long time. He was also associated with USAID.

Zulhaz Mannan. This photo is taken from his Facebook page.

Xulhaz Mannan. This photo is taken from his Facebook page.

BBC identified Mannan as senior editor of Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine.

The attackers tricked Mannan to open the door saying they have brought him a courier.

Islam like most other religions forbids homosexuality.

It seems no one can stop Islamists in Bangladesh.