The Bangladesh unit of al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS), Ansar Al Islam, has reportedly claimed responsibility of murdering a LGBT magazine editor Xulhaz Mannan and his friend in Kalabagan.
The suspected militant group in two separate messages, one in Bangla and the other in English, claimed the responsibility, Daily Star quoted a tweet from handle 'Ansar Al Islam' as saying.
The claim comes almost a day after Mannan and his friend was brutally found murdered in a machete attack in their Kalabagan flat in the capital.
Some youth stormed into the house and hacked the two dead. They also attacked a security guard and a policeman.
The group has in the past also claimed responsibility for the killings of secular activists, including those of Nladri Chattopadhyay last year and Nazim Uddin Samad this month - both in Dhaka.
Earlier in the day, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque said that Kalabagan's double murder was "planned extensively and the victims were being followed" for days.
The Dhaka Medical College, which conducted an autopsy, confirmed chops to the head as the reason of death.
A case accusing anonymous assailants was last night registered with the Kalabagan Police Station.
