It came a day after police killed the main suspect behind last month’s bombing of a Shia shrine that left two people dead and wounded dozens. The Sunni extremist group Islamic State claims responsibility, according to the terror monitoring group SITE.
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Islam said security officials had killed the alleged mastermind of the October 24 attack, Al Bani, during a gunfight Thursday morning in a Dhaka suburb.
One of the men executed was Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, who was the official number two in the country’s biggest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami. Its members formed militias and groups to assist Pakistani soldiers during the war and acted as an auxiliary force involved in kidnappings and killings of people who supported independence.
“There is reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian and western interests in Bangladesh”, the country’s foreign ministry said in a travel advice update posted on its website on Friday.
The attack happened at a Shiite mosque in Shibganj, some 125 kilometres north of Dhaka, when worshippers were holding their early evening prayers. The two have lived together in harmony for as long as they have existed in the region, said Dhaka social activist Imran H. Sarker. There were no disputes between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the area prior to the incident.
“We advise you (Australians) to exercise a high degree of caution in Bangladesh due to the high threat of terrorist attack and the uncertain political situation”, the statement added.
The attack on the mosque in Bangladesh triggered a wave of concern among Shi’ites in neighboring India.
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“We have spoken to the media before, categorically denying ISIL’s claims in the past”. Recently, an ISIS-linked gang published an “enemies of Islam” hit list, which consisted mostly of secular writers, academics, and publishers.
