AhlulBayt News Agency - Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pleaded with extremists to stop killing in the name of religion Saturday after 20 hostages were killed in a siege at a Dhaka restaurant.
"Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion," Hasina said in a televised address to the nation in which she declared two days of mourning.
"Please stop tarnishing our noble religion... I implore you to come back to the rightful path and uphold the pride of Islam."
The prime minister, urged a nationwide effort to combat extremism.
She asked people to set up "anti-terrorism committees" in districts and sub-districts across the mainly Muslim but officially secular country.
The 68-year-old premier said the people behind the attacks were trying to ruin Bangladesh.
"By holding innocent civilians hostage at gunpoint, they want to turn our nation into a failed state," she said.
“Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such act. They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism,” Hasina added, vowing to fight terrorist attacks in her country and urged people to come forward.
In mid-June, Bangladesh police armed villagers in the country’s western regions with bamboo sticks and whistles to avoid Daesh attacks on secular intellectuals and members of the minority faiths.
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