Kerry heads to Bangladesh, India amid South Asian tensions

US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to visit Bangladesh and India amid increasing concerns about terrorism in both South Asian nations.

After talks on Syria with Russian and UN officials, Kerry plans to depart Geneva this evening for meetings with Bangladeshi officials, opposition and civic leaders who are coping with a series of extremist attacks. The most recent killed 20 people, including 17 foreigners, at a popular restaurant last month in Dhaka, the capital.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities maintain that a local banned group, Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, was behind it.

Kerry, on his first visit to Bangladesh as secretary of state, plans to discuss counterterrorism cooperation, along with human rights and economic development. On Saturday, police said they had killed three suspected militants, including an alleged mastermind of the cafe attack. Attacks over the past two years have killed atheist bloggers, foreign aid workers and religious minorities.

— AP

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