Japanese Man Fatally Shot In Bangladesh, Days After ISIS-Linked Killing Of Italian Aid Worker

Unidentified gunmen fatally shot a Japanese man Saturday in northern Bangladesh, local police said. The incident comes just days after another foreign national was gunned down in the South Asian country in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS.

The incident reportedly occurred at Mahiganj village in Rangpur district, about 210 miles north of the capital Dhaka. The victim has been identified as Kunio Hoshi, 65, who worked for a farming project in Rangpur, Reuters reported. Police said he died on the way to hospital.

"A Japanese man was shot dead in the remote town of Kaunia today. He was traveling to the town on a cycle rickshaw when his vehicle was stopped by three men riding on a motorcycle," Saifur Rahman, deputy police chief of Rangpur, told Agence France-Presse. "They shot him there and drove away. His body has been brought to the morgue of Rangpur Medical College."

The motive behind the attack was not immediately clear. The victim was born in Bangladesh, Reuters reported.

The killing of the Japanese national comes just five days after an Italian aid worker was killed by assailants in Dhaka. ISIS claimed responsibility for the killing, but authorities dismissed the claim, saying it was an “isolated incident.”

The Italian national was identified as Cesare Tavella, who worked for a Netherlands-based church cooperative, police reportedly said.

Bangladesh has seen a rising tide of extremism with radical Islamic groups claiming responsibility for gruesome killings of a number of atheist bloggers this year.