International militant outfit Islamic State (IS) yesterday claimed responsibility for the gun attack on a Shiite mosque that killed a muazzin at Haripur under Shibganj upazila of Bogra on Thursday night. Two people were arrested for their suspected link to the incidents. US-based monitoring organisation SITE reported that IS, which has claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks in Bangladesh, said it had targeted the Shiite worshippers. "Allah enabled the soldiers of the Islamic State in Bangladesh to target a Rafidah Mushrikin temple (Shiite Mosque)," SITE, which monitors jihadist activity, quoted the Islamic State (IS) group as saying in a message posted on Twitter.
Our Correspondent adds from Bogra: The two people detained yesterday were identified as Anwar Hossain, 48, resident of Maghihatra village, and Jewel, 25, of Haripur village of the upazila. The arrests come after Sona Mia, cashier of the mosque, filed a case with Shibganj Police Station on Thursday night accusing unknown assailants over the incident. Md. Asaduzzaman, superintendent of police (SP) of Bogra, said police carried out an overnight raid at different parts of Shibganj upazila and detained the duo for their suspected involvement in the gun attack. The police raid will continue until the perpetrators are not caught, he added.
The SP also said that a joint investigation is being run by police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to identify the motive of the attack and the perpetrators.
A PBI team has already seized around eight bullet shells of 0.22 bore from the spot, said Akter Hossain, PBI additional superintendent. Additional police and RAB personnel have been deployed in and around the mosque to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, the body of the muazzin, Moazzem Hossain, 70, was handed over to his family after an autopsy yesterday, Habibur Rahman, officer in charge of Shibganj Police Station, said. Moazzem was later buried in his family graveyard after Jumma prayer. Three others, who were injured in the gun attack, were being treated at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital and were now out of danger, said the police official.