DHAKA — Cesare Tavella, an Italian aid worker, reportedly was killed on Monday, in Dhaka, by three shots fired from close range, for which ISIS claimed responsibility shortly after the attack. 

  In the aftermath of the murder, the United States issued a warning to all American citizens in Bangladesh to restrict their movements. In a statement signed by the Advisory Council for the safety of overseas citizens, it is said that “militants may have planned attacks with the interest of Australia in Bangladesh.”

  “We have found no evidence of a link between the assassination yesterday and ISIS” said the Bangladeshi Minister of the Interior, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. During a press conference, he said that “we are carrying out investigations into the killing. So far, the body has shown no link between ISIS and the murder.” The Minister also took the opportunity to reiterate that ISIS “does not exist in Bangladesh”. 

  According to police reports, Tavella was in a jogging outfit when he was approached by an armed commando. Three gunshots wounded him in the abdomen, right hand and left elbow, and he was left on the side of the street in a pool of blood. Passers-by took him to the “United Hospitals”, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. 

  Tavella was born in Milan, but was residing in Casola Valsenia, a town in the Ravenna area. He was working in Dhaka as a project for a Dutch NGO, the ICCO Cooperation, which has offices in Bangladesh.

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