Police in Bangladesh on Sunday
shot dead an Islamist militant wanted for the killings of
several liberal bloggers and gay rights activists, a senior
official said.
The militant, identified as Sharif, is one of the leaders of the banned group Ansar Ullah Bangla Team, police official Abdul Baten said. The officer added that he took part in the killing of blogger Avijit Roy, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, in Dhaka last year.
Sharif was also behind the killing of two gay rights activists in April, as well as four other bloggers and a publisher, the police officer told a news conference.
Police officer Baten said Sharif was killed in a gun battle that erupted following a raid on a militant hideout on the outskirts of Dhaka.
During the pre-dawn raid, our personnel had to open fire after three suspected militants on a motorbike started firing at them.Abdul Baten, Police Officer
Sharif’s death came a day after another militant, who was arrested four days ago while carrying out an attack on a Hindu college teacher in southwestern Madaripur, died in a shootout.
The 17-year-old, identified as Golam Faizullah Fahim, was killed in the surprise shootout a day after police secured a court order to interrogate him.
Fahim was in custody in connection with the murder attempt on Ripan Chakraborty, a mathematics lecturer of a government university college in Madaripur.
The killings of bloggers critical of extremism, atheists and religious minorities have been rampant in Bangladesh. Rights groups and opposition parties say hundreds of innocent people have been taken into police custody as part of the crackdown.
This month the government, facing growing pressure from an international community alarmed by the spate of attacks for arresting 11,000 people.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)