It has not been rescheduled despite assurances from the Bangladeshi government that the players would have a full security detail.
Advertisement
“Based on the evidence and previous experience, we could say that the murder was pre-planned”, senior police official Mukhlesur Rahman told reporters after visiting the crime scene. Both aspire to lead Islamic extremism worldwide, but differ widely over strategy.
Cesare Tavella, who was aged around 50 and working at a Netherlands-based non-governmental organisation, was gunned down in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone while on his evening walk, said Muntasirul Islam, spokesman for Dhaka metropolitan police.
The USA embassy said its diplomats were instructed not to go outside overnight following the attack and warned of possible attacks on US facilities, citizens and interests.
“A 50-year-old man called Tavella Cesare was shot three times at Road Number 90 in the capital’s Gulshan area in the afternoon today”, he said. Australian officials are now considering whether a tour by the country’s cricket team can go ahead.
Al-Qaida and Isis are competing across much of south Asia to attract recruits and donors.
Bangladesh, where there is a decades-old history of hardline Islamic extremist activism, is fertile ground for both groups.
Initial evidence suggested the attack was planned, police said, noting that nothing had been taken from Tavella during the attack.
Advertisement
Dhaka police were questioning witnesses including street beggars who allegedly heard the gunshots and saw the attackers flee, local broadcaster Somoy Television said Tuesday.
