Isis claims attack on shiite mosque in bangladesh

Investigators inspect a mosque that was attacked by unidentified… 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.

The Polish EuroAfrica company, the ship’s owner, said the ship was “attacked by armed pirates from two boats, some 35 nautical miles off the Nigerian coast”. The other suspects said they were inspired to attack Haider by the sermons of Rahmani.

Two individuals from two close by villages had been picked up for questioning concerning the attack, one other police officer Arifur Rahman stated.

An Islamic State affiliate in Bangladesh said Friday that it was behind an attack on a Shiite mosque in the country’s north that killed one man and wounded three others.

“The Islamic State (IS) claimed credit for the November 26, 2015 attack on a Shia mosque in Bangladesh’s Bogra district”, the SITE Intelligence group said.

A statement posted on an Twitter account associated with ISIS’ Bangladesh offshoot said that the site was chosen by the extremist Sunni group because of sectarian rifts between.

Earlier on Thursday, police in Bangladesh said that Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned local Islamist group, had carried out the attack on the Shi’ite procession.

The Jamaat and its leaders openly opposed Bangladesh’s 1971 war to gain freedom from Pakistan. Last week, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, a leader during the war, was executed despite concerns that the legal proceedings against him were flawed. “The men ran away when the worshippers shouted for help”, Ukil said.

The bombing was believed to be the first attack on Shia in Bangladesh, though banned Islamist terrorist groups have killed more than a dozen Sufi Muslims and attacked Hindus and Christians in the last two years.

Since September, a number of attacks, some targeting foreigners, in Bangladesh have been claimed by the ISIL.

Bangladesh has repeatedly rejected claims of active presence of worldwide Islamist outfits such as IS and al Qaeda in the country.

Later it continued its violent campaign by killing and attacking judges and authorities, and threatening women and journalists without veils.