Blogger Butchered in Bangladesh

The blogger butchered in Bangladesh on Thursday evening for frequently criticizing religious intolerance and Islamic extremism was a naturalized American citizen originally born in the country where he was crucified.

A heretofore unknown terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the brutal assault on Avijit Roy and his wife as the couple were about to sit down for tea at a crowded sidewalk cafe in Dhaka. 

The attackers who call themselves "Ansar Bangla 7" used cleavers and machetes to viciously hack their victims, then left the bloody utensils at the scene.

Roy's spouse, Rafida Ahmed, is also a blogger. She survived her wounds but remains seriously injured.

"This was not just an attack against a person," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki angrily told reporters in Washington, "but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh's constitution and the country's proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse."

In recent years Bangladeshis have seen similar ambushes on secular writers who lived or were visiting their country, giving rise to fears that Islamic militancy may now be spreading into that impoverished nation, too.

Following this latest act of terrorism the group Ansar Bangla 7 announced on Twitter that the blogger butchered in Bangladesh "was the target because of his crime against Islam," leaving little doubt that yet another Muslim extremist group has just been born.

Avijit Roy was 42-years-old when he was assassinated. Like other outspoken bloggers, he had been receiving death threats for years.

Eponymous Rox