Three motorcycle-borne assailants carry out all recent attacks on foreigners in Bangladesh

But the latest victim, Italian priest Piero Parolari, survived the attempt on his life in Dinajpur on Wednesday.

Earlier, Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella and Japanese farmer Kunio Hoshi were gunned down in Dhaka and Rangpur respectively.

Witnesses said Parolari was attacked by three assailants who fled on a motorcycle.

The attacks on Tavella and Hoshi, too, were carried out by three motorcycle-borne assailants.

The attempt on Parolari was carried out hours before the Supreme Court pronounced the verdicts on review petitions filed by war criminals BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alleged that the attacks on the foreigners aimed at destabilising the country to save the war criminals.

Police arrested general secretary of Jamaat’s Dinajpur district unit Mahbubur Rahman Bhutto for his alleged involvement with the attack on Parolari, according to Kotwali Police Station OC AkM Khalequzzaman.

Parolari, 78, has been working as a missionary in Bangladesh for the past 25 years — 12 of them in Dinajpur. He is a doctor by profession.

He was cycling down to the St Vincent Hospital, which is run by the local diocese, after his morning prayers at the Suihari Catholic Mission when he came under attack in front of Mirzapur BRTC depot at around 8am.

A witness, requesting anonymity, said the assailants were three in number.

The bike driver was wearing a helmet while the pillion riders covered their bodies with cloaks, he said.

"One of them (pillion riders) fired the shot and then they fled through an alley," he said.     

OC Khalequzzaman said police found a bullet shell at the scene.

Dinajpur Superintendent of Police Ruhul Amin also said the attackers used a motorcycle.

"We are yet to identify them," he said.

He said police detained several persons for questioning.

Parolari was rushed to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital before being airlifted to Dhaka's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
 
Dinajpur Medical College Hospital's Senior Consultant Zillur Rahman said Parolari had two wounds in the back of his head. 
 
"They seemed to be caused by gun shot. There are wounds also in his forehead and eyes. He might have sustained those injuries when he fell down," Rahman said.
 

He also said it was not possible to say anything about his health condition with certainty before 24 hours passed.
 
Parolari's colleague at the St Vincent Hospital, 'Olympia', after visiting him, said his condition seemed to be stable. "He can speak now."
 
He is the second Christian priest to have been attacked in a span of two months.
 
Father Luke Sarkar, a Bangladesh national, was knifed in his church in Pabna on Oct 5. He has recovered from his stab injuries.
 
Bangladesh also witnessed attacks on police in these two months. Two policemen were killed in separate attacks on check posts in Dhaka.
 
Radical group Islamic State purportedly claimed responsibilities for the attacks on Tavella, Hoshi and policemen. But the government and law-enforcing agencies have denied any presence of IS in Bangladesh.
 
Police have arrested brothers of two BNP leaders over the murders of Tavella and Hoshi.
 
The Christian missionaries in Dinajpur are worried about their security after the attack on Parolari.
 
Dinajpur Catholic Mission's Bishop Sebastian Tudu told bdnews24.com they hoped the government would take measures against the perpetrators.
 
The schools run by Christian missionaries were closed after 10am to pray for Parolari's recovery.