Mastermind in Fr Parolari’s attack killed in Bangladesh

Khaled Hasan organised the attempted murder of Italian missionary. Fr Piero survived bullets that entered his neck and a bad fall that broke several ribs. Guns, hand-made bombs and bomb-making material were found in the terrorist hideout. PIME missionaries still live under police protection.

Bogra (AsiaNews) – Police in Bangladesh killed two militants yesterday, including the "mastermind" of the attack against Fr Piero Parolari, missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), and a long-time resident in the country.

The man behind the attempted murder of the Italian priest was identified as Khaled Hasan, 30, whilst the second terrorist killed was Ripon, alias Golam Tareque, 29.

Police in Bogra confirmed the deaths. Superintendent Gaziur Rahman said, "Khaled Hasan was the military commander in the northern region, and masterminded the attack on the missionary."

The militants fell in a shootout with agents at Noluabari intersection, Bogra District (north-western Bangladesh).

In their hideout, police seized foreign made guns, bullets, two homemade bombs and other bomb-making material. Two police officers were wounded in the incident, and are now hospitalised.

Fr Parolari, 64, survived an assassination attempt in Dinajpur on 18 November.

Local authorities realised immediately that Islamists were behind the attempted murder, which was confirmed by the subsequent arrest and confession of one of the perpetrators.

The latter said he was a member of the fundamentalist Islamic group Jamaat-ul-Mujiahideen, founded in 1998 and banned by the government in 2015.

Following the attack, Fr Piero went back to Italy for a long period of convalescence. In Bangladesh, his confrères still live under escort, arranged in the first hours after the attack.

The measure has been confirmed in recent days, reflecting a climate of ongoing insecurity.

• bangladesh
• attack
• fr piero parolari
• mastermind
• attempted murder