US condemns murder of Bangladeshi blogger

WASHINGTON: The US has termed the hacking to death of a secular Bangladeshi blogger as a "cowardly murder" and underlined the need to work together to counter violent extremism.

"The United States condemns the cowardly murder of writer/ blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay (Niloy Chakrabarty Neel) in Bangladesh. We offer our condolences to his family and our support to the Bangladeshi people," the State Department said in a statement yesterday.

"This heinous act once again underscores the need to work together to counter violent extremism. We stand with Bangladeshis who reject this vicious act and who work to protect space for freedom of expression," it said.

Machete-wielding Islamists hacked 40-year-old Chattopadhya to death inside his fifth-floor flat at North Gorhan in the capital Dhaka yesterday, the fourth such brutal murder in the country in less than six months.

Terror group Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has claimed responsibility for the murder.