Bangladesh bans militant group linked to al-Qaeda

The Bangladeshi government has banned the militant group -- Ansar-Al-Islam, which declared itself as the "Bangladesh branch" of al-Qaeda in the subcontinent.

Bangladeshi Ministry of Home Affairs banned the group for its militant and anti-state activities with publishing a gazette notification in this regard on Sunday.

The country had earlier banned seven such organizations for militant activities.

Ansar-Al-Islam is believed to be behind the gruesome death of a magazine editor and his friend. Shariful Islam Shihab, a key suspect, told law enforcers in an interrogation that the two were killed for their alleged anti-Islamic activities.

The group also claimed credit for the sensational murders in the capital Dhaka in April last year.

A number of secularist writers, bloggers and publishers in the country have been killed or seriously injured in attacks perpetrated by extremists since 2013. Endit