Three unidentified bike-borne assailants killed a Hindu priest in Jhenaidah district of western Bangladesh on Tuesday. The Islamic State took responsibility for the murder. The attack took place around 9.30 am when Ananta Gopal Ganguly, 65, was on his way to a temple, reported The Hindu.

The trio slit his throat, said Assistant Superintendent of Police Gopinath Kanjilal, adding that investigation is on to catch the culprits. Ganguly's body was found in a rice field near his home. Later, the police sent it for an autopsy.

The brutal murder is the latest in a string of attacks on minorities and secular activists in Bangladesh. There have been around 10 killings of the kind over the past 10 weeks. On Sunday, a Christian businessman was hacked to death after Sunday prayers near a church in northwest Bangladesh. In another incident, the wife of a senior policeman was gunned down by religious extremists. Another Hindu shop owner was also hacked to death outside his store in Gaibandha district in May.

Although the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has consistently denied the presence of the terror outfit in Bangladesh.