It was unclear who was responsible
London: An Italian priest is fighting for his life in northern Bangladesh after being shot and seriously wounded by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday. The attack is the latest in a series targeting foreigners in the unstable south Asian country, which have been blamed on Islamic militant groups including Islamic State, police said.
The priest, identified only as “Piero”, was riding his bicycle in the northern city of Dinajpur when gunmen on a motorbike shot him several times at close range before fleeing, The Guardian reported.
It was unclear who was responsible. The attack comes after an Italian aid worker was shot dead in September and a Japanese farmer was killed days later in Dhaka, the capital. Both attacks were claimed by Isis.
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The Bangladesh government has repeatedly denied Isis was behind the attacks, saying there is “no presence of [Isis] militancy” in the Muslim-majority nation and blaming local opposition political parties. Western intelligence services and governments, however, fear Isis and other international extremist organisations are gaining a foothold in the poor, chaotic nation.
Bangladesh is also reeling from a series of murders of secular bloggers and a publisher of secular books, attacks claimed by a banned hardline Islamic militant group thought to be linked to al-Qaida. However, there has been several violent disputes between Christians and Muslims in recent months in the area.
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