Situation in Bangladesh is very complex, says US State Department

The situation in Bangladesh is "very complex," says the US state department, after the Islamic State and al Qaeda reportedly claimed responsibility for recent murders in the country.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 April 2016, 05:13 AM
Updated : 30 April 2016, 05:59 AM

State Department spokesperson Mark Toner told a Friday briefing that the US has asked the Bangladesh government to investigate all these recent attacks and identify those responsible for them.

This follows US Secretary of State John Kerry's phone call to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, urging her to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent attacks, including the one on LGBT rights activist Xulhaz Mannan.

Toner said Kerry also urged Hasina "to redouble efforts by law enforcement agencies to protect these individuals believed to be at risk".

The Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have been claiming responsibility for the targeted killings of secular writers, online activists and liberal publishers in Bangladesh during the last one year.

Mark Toner

They claimed responsibility for the recent attacks on a Rajshahi university professor and a gay rights activist in Dhaka.

The Bangladesh government, however, denies existence of IS or AQIS in the country and describes the killings as being masterminded by ‘home-grown Islamist radicals’.

" We have no reason to – not to believe those claims of responsibility. But what is clear is that there is a definite threat on the ground," said the state department spokesperson.

"I mean, we’ve seen several brutal murders now over the past several weeks. And we want to the government there to take every step possible to protect its citizens."

During his phone call to Hasina, Kerry said that he would send Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal to Dhaka to discuss ways of strengthening counterterrorism cooperation.