Christian Aid Worker Shot by ISIL in Bangladesh

The death of a Christian aid worker in Bangladesh is believed to be the first terrorist atrocity to be carried out in the country by ISIL.

The terror group confirmed that they shot dead Cesare Tavella in Dhaka while he was out jogging in the diplomatic area of the capital.

Local police said that he appeared to have been ambushed by three men who had pulled to the side of the road on a motorcycle. The men fired at Mr Tavella at least three times before fleeing on the bike.

“We think it was a pre-planned killing,” said Mohammad Abdul Ahad, a Dhaka police official.

According to the SITE Intelligence Group, a UK group which monitors radical Islamic websites, ISIL issued a statement after the killing, claiming that a “security detachment” had tracked Mr Tavella through the streets of Dhaka and then killed him using “silenced weapons.”

In its statement, Islamic State hinted at more attacks in Bangladesh, and said citizens of what it called “the crusader coalition” were not safe, even in the homes of Muslims.

The crusader coalition – a thinly veiled reference to the Crusades in the Middle Ages – is a name coined by ISIL to represent all Western democracies.

Security concerns for non-Muslims in Bangladesh have escalated since 2010, when the country’s constitution returned it from being an Islamic state back into a secular democracy.

A spate of killings of atheist bloggers by Muslim fundamentalists has led to intelligence suggesting that ISIL was about to make its first inroads into Bangladesh, which has the fourth largest Muslim population in the world.

• Pray for Bangladesh, for the government to make wise decision in the face of increased threats from ISIL. Pray for protection on this nation and it’s people.
• Pray for Bangladesh Christians to have peace in their hearts and not fear. Pray for their continued witness in their communities and families, and for the Church to unite together and stand strong.
• Pray for effective measure to protect Bangladesh’s Christians, and also foreign Christian workers who give so much to this country.

Ephesians 6 vs 18: “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints“

Source: http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news, http://www.persecution.org