Also, a 60-year-old Christian man, identified as Sunil Gomes, was hacked to death at a shop he owned in Natore, in the north of the country. The news agency of Isis, Amaq, asserted that the group was responsible for his death. Isis (Islamic State) has claimed at least two other killings.
Bangladesh has been shaken by increasing religious tension as extremist groups gain sway. Besides the spate of attacks on individuals, extremist groups have bombed Shia shrines in a characteristic attempt to foment sectarian violence.
A debate over whether Bangladesh should have a secular or Islamic government has defined the country's politics since its birth after an independence war against Pakistan in 1971. The Government is secular and has spearheaded controversial prosecutions of Islamist figures for war crimes during the 1971 war, enraging many of the country's fundamentalists.
But although Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asserted her commitment to secular values, she has been hesitant to speak out in support of the secular and atheist bloggers killed or injured in attacks.
In an interview with Time in 2015, she said, "Personally, I don't support it, I don't accept it. Why not? You have to have your faith. If anybody thinks they have no religion, okay, it's their personal view. ... But they have no right to write or speak against any religion."