Two Killed as Bangladesh Islamists Protest Execution of Top Leader

Two student activists have been shot dead in Bangladesh, police said today, as the largest Islamist party tried to enforce a nationwide strike to protest at the execution of a senior leader.

There were also reports of protesters firebombing vehicles around the country as tensions ran high following the execution late Saturday of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Police said the body of a 22-year-old student supporter of the party had been found in the western city of Rajshahi on Monday. He had been shot at least five times.

Another student activist died in hospital on Monday morning after he was shot during clashes between police and protesters in the northwestern district of Sirajganj on Sunday night, the district's deputy police chief Faruq Ahmed told AFP.