On Nov. 18, an Italian priest was wounded by a gunmen in Bangladesh, the latest in a wave of attacks on foreigners in the country. Only weeks before, an Italian citizen working with a development organization was shot in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone—one of the most heavily guarded places in the country. A few days later, a Japanese citizen was murdered in northern Bangladesh in a similar style.
The motives for these murders are not yet clear, but political leaders have rushed to suggest who could be behind these killings without presenting any credible and concrete evidence. Another spin-off of these events is to create an atmosphere of panic, which has been greatly heightened by the ISIS apparently claiming responsibility for these incidents—including the bombing of a Shiite procession on Oct. 24, 2015.
Initially, the government of Bangladesh denied it was aware of any such threats, but it soon transpired that some foreign consulates did actually inform the government about credible risk against Western citizens in the country.
