Militants killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, many of them hacked to death, after taking them hostage in a Bangladesh cafe overnight on Saturday. The hostages were killed during the 10-hour standoff, and a survivor’s father said the attackers spared people who could recite verses from the holy Quran. Café was a famous place for foreigners and it seems terrorists’ main aim was to attack non-Muslim foreigners. Six gunmen were killed during the police operation and one was captured. According to initial reports ISIS has claimed the responsibility of the brutal attack; if this is the case then its a worrying sign that terrorist organization is making inroads in Bangladesh.
In recent times incidents of violence and extremism have increased in Bangladesh and numbers of secular bloggers, people from minorities have been beaten to death by mob. Few believe that government’s failure to take action against murderers of writers and secular voices eventually leading to increased violence in the country.
Bangladesh also needs to stop hangings of religious leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, this act gives sense of revenge to extremist elements of the society that feel that government is trying to repress its religious identity. They try to affiliate with terrorist organizations such as ISIS. It seems that all the focus of Prime Minister Sheikh Hassina’s government remained on targeting political opponents in guise of war crime, and at the same time, meaningful action against extremist and terrorist elements has not been taken. It is high time authorities’ needs to figure out how to tackle extremism and abettors of terrorist organization in the country.
Bangladesh needs to take effective measures against increasing violence and extremism in the country.
