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Roundup: IS claims killing of Italian national in Bangladesh: Doubts raised over authenticity

Xinhua, September 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Gunmen have shot dead an Italian national in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, police said, in the first attack claimed by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.

According to a jihadist threat monitoring portal, SITE Intelligence Group, IS claimed its responsibility in the killing in an online statement.

The authenticity of the statement has not been confirmed by Bangladesh Police on Tuesday.

The Italian national named Tavela Ceaser was shot dead at about 7:00 p.m. (local time) on Monday night in Bangladesh capital Dhaka 's diplomatic enclave Gulshan.

The Italian woman, 50, who was shot in the back while jogging along a Gulshan street, has been working for an international organization.

Regarding the IS claim, Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told Xinhua that "We are looking into the statement."

"Third party (SITE Intelligence Group) has published the statement. We don't know whether its authentic. We are working on it."

He further said there is a spelling mistake in the name of the Islamic State (IS). "At the outset of the statement published in the website that tracks online activity of Jihadi organizations we see that they have written Islamic Start instead of Islamic State, which raised doubt in our mind."

"The Islamic Start (IS) claimed the killing of an Italian national, identified as Tavela Ceaser, in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka," the statement reads.

Acting Inspector General of Police Mokhlesur Rahman had earlier told journalists that the killing appeared to be premeditated.

He said preliminary investigation suggested Tavella was attacked by three armed gunmen who escaped on a motorcycle.

The miscreants have fled immediately after launching the shooting attack without snatching valuables from her, he added.

A day into the murder of the Italian national, the United States has advised its citizens to limit their movement.

UK had earlier issued travel warning for its nationals.

The assassination came hours after Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Monday that "we've taken all-out security measures ahead of Bangladesh-Australia Test series."

He made the remarks shortly after meeting the visiting Anti- Corruption and Security Manager of Cricket Australia (CA) Sean Carroll here on Monday afternoon.

The flight of the Australian players to Dhaka has been postponed following the security advice from the Australian government, claiming that they had intelligence of militant groups might target the country's cricket team in Bangladesh after arrival. Endi