IS claimed responsibilty for an attacks at Shia mosques in Bangladesh

A man was dead and three others were injured Thursday night after unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Shia mosque in Bangladesh’s Bogra district, some 197 km northwest of Dhaka.

The Bogra Shia mosques’ managing committee President Abu Jafar said: “Those who are engaged in carrying out militant activities across the world and are also involved in anti-Shia activities might have links with this attack”.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed a mosque official in his 70s who had been leading the prayers.

Five militants from banned local Islamist outfit Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were also arrested during the raids carried out by police in Dhaka late on Wednesday.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for those attacks as well as the bombing of the Shi’ite procession.

“Security has been beefed up at all important Shia installations including their mosques in Dhaka ahead of the Muslim’s Friday prayer”, Dhaka police spokesman Muntashirul Islam told AFP.

Since February, four secular bloggers, a publisher and two foreigners – an Italian aid worker and a Japanese agriculture researcher – have been killed, raising concern that religious extremism is growing.

Shi’ites are a tiny minority in Bangladesh, whose population of about 160 million is nearly entirely Sunni, and have not been the target of sectarian violence. Local police say they have detained two local residents in connection to the attack.

Many governments still question the country’s ability – or perhaps willingness – to snub out extremist elements even as targeted attacks there shocked many in the country.

A group calling itself Islamic State-Bangladesh said it attacked the mosque with machine guns.

“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution when using the transport networks in Bangladesh”, added the advisory.

“We are now concerned as it was the second time an attack came on us”.

“IS is trying to set the Sunnis in Bangladesh against the Shias”.

But Islam say that local armed groups were behind past attacks, not ISIL.