IS claims responsibility for Italian killed in Bangladesh

The Italian worker has been identified as Cesare Tavella, 50, who was shot thrice from a close proximity Monday evening in Dhaka’s Gulshan diplomatic zone while he was jogging near his house.

An online statement later claimed responsibility in the name of the “Islamic State” militant group, saying its attackers followed the man and shot him dead.

He worked as the project manager at the Netherlands-based NGO ICCO Cooperation’s Profitable Opportunities for Food Security (PROOFS) programme.

The savage terror group – which has expanded its reach from Syria and Iraq to vast swathes of Africa and Asia – claimed responsibility for gunning down Cesare Tavella as he jogged home yesterday in the capital Dhaka.

The murder came two days after the Australian cricket team postponed the start of its tour of Bangladesh on the basis of “reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh”.

Police arrested the leader of banned local hardline Islamic group Ansarullah Bangla Team over the blogger killings, which sparked an global outcry.

“We say to all citizens of the Crusader coalition, you will not be safe in the Muslim lands, and this is just the beginning”.

Bangladeshi authorities have not confirmed that IS was behind the attack, but a police spokesman said it appeared to be a “pre-planned murder”.

Witnesses said they heard at least three gunshots and saw the attackers flee after Tavella fell to the ground, according to police. Nearly 90 percent of Bangladesh’s 160 million population practises Islam.

“ISIS claim of killing Italian AISD employee Tevella Cesare shows that ISIS-AQ competition has reached Bangladesh”, Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence group, tweeted.

Regarding the IS claim, Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told Xinhua that “We are looking into the statement”. “They fled quickly”, Begum said.

Prior to Monday’s killing, Bangladesh’s government had been busy dealing with earlier security concerns raised by the United Kingdom and Australia over the past week.

Meanwhile, an autopsy conducted yesterday at Dhaka Medical College morgue confirmed that Tavella was shot three times from behind.