Advertisement

Police arrest suspect in knife attack on Bangladeshi pastor

The attack comes a week after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting death of an Italian aid worker jogging in the Bangladeshi capital.

By Fred Lambert
Police on Oct. 6, 2015, apprehended a suspect in connection with the attempted killing of a pastor in Pabna, Bangladesh, by three men who pretended to be interested in Christianity. Photo by Hermitage17/ Wikimedia Commons
Police on Oct. 6, 2015, apprehended a suspect in connection with the attempted killing of a pastor in Pabna, Bangladesh, by three men who pretended to be interested in Christianity. Photo by Hermitage17/ Wikimedia Commons

PABNA, Bangladesh, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Police in Bangladesh on Tuesday apprehended a suspect in the attempted killing of a pastor by three men who feigned interest in Christianity.

The BBC reports authorities arrested a member of the student wing of the Jamaat-e Islami party, the largest Islamic political party in Bangladesh, in connection to the incident.

Advertisement

Luke Sarker, 52, was injured but survived after three men pretending to be interested in Christianity attempted to cut his throat on Monday.

The attackers are reported to have called Sarker and organized an in-person meeting during the two weeks prior to the incident. They fled mid-attack after Sarker's wife came to his aid.

The attack, which occurred in the northwestern Pabna district, comes one week after Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella, 50, was shot dead while jogging in the diplomatic quarter of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, and just three days after Japanese farmer Hoshi Kunio, 66, was gunned down in northern district of Rangpur.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, but police said they had uncovered no evidence pointing to the group, which has not announced a branch in Bangladesh.

Advertisement

Following Tavella's death, the United States and United Kingdom restricted the movements of diplomats and warned their citizens to exercise caution, noting they have intelligence indicating Westerners may be targeted.

At least four secular bloggers have been murdered by suspected Islamic militants in Bangladesh this year, including a U.S. citizen.

The group believed responsible for the killings, Ansarullah Bangla Team, last month released on online "hit list" of bloggers it promised to kill -- including nine in the United Kingdom, seven in Germany, two in the United States, one in Canada and one in Sweden.

Latest Headlines