The Islamic State, in statements attributed to it, claimed responsibility for an attack near the Bangladeshi capital that left one police officer dead and another wounded, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online.
The attack took place Wednesday at a checkpoint along a street about 30 miles from the capital, Dhaka, in what appeared to be the first assault on representatives of the Bangladeshi state to be claimed by the Islamic State. It comes as extremist violence is rising and as threats against vocal secularists in the country are increasing.
The Islamic State claimed the attack in a message circulated online, SITE said Wednesday.
“In a security operation, Allah enabled the soldiers of the state in Bangladesh to attack a police checkpoint,” SITE quoted the group as saying, and “the soldiers of the caliphate withdrew safely.”
