Bangladeshi Sufi leader killed in latest targeted attack
In what appears to be the latest in a series of targeted attacks, a local Sufi Muslim leader, Mohammad Shahidullah, was killed in the north of the country on 7 May. In the past year, a number of people from different communities, including academics, secular bloggers, and openly gay individuals, have been brutally murdered, with several Islamist extremist groups claiming responsibility. In recent weeks, the trend has intensified, and police are investigating whether Shahidullah’s death is one of these killings. Unlike most of the others, he was killed in a secluded spot approximately 25 miles from his home. Sufism is regarded as a moderate, mystical form of Islam, which hardliners disapprove of. Although the government has vowed to crack down on extremism, there is little evidence of this policy taking effect.

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A local Sufi Muslim leader in northern Bangladesh was found hacked to death in a secluded mango grove, the police said on Saturday.

A girl in the district of Rajshahi happened upon the body of Mohammad Shahidullah in a dry pond under a mango tree as she was gathering dried leaves for a fire on Friday evening. Mr. Shahidullah was found about 25 miles from his home with two deep wounds in his neck and throat, said Abul Kalam Azad, a police official in Rajshahi. Mr. Shahidullah, who owned a grocery store in his village, had left home that morning, Mr. Azad said.

Similar attacks on intellectuals, secular writers and others have taken place over the last two years in Bangladesh. The attacks have seemed to increase in recent weeks, with a Hindu tailor being hacked to death last month, as were two gay rights activists, among others. Several of the assaults have been claimed by the Islamic State or by a branch of Al Qaeda, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist websites. An English professor was hacked to death, also in Rajshahi, last month, in an attack that was claimed by the Islamic State and that police said they believed was connected to Islamist militants.

But Mr. Azad said that this latest attack differed from the others in that it did not appear to have been carried out in the open, but rather in a secluded field. When asked if the police suspected Islamist militants, Mr. Azad said it was too soon to tell.