Italian shot dead in Dhaka: Australia's Bangla tour bowled

An Italian citizen was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Bangladeshi capital on Monday, police said.

The attack came a day after Cricket Australia said it was delaying its departure to Bangladesh for an October tour due to government fears that militants may be planning to target Australian interests.

The Australian cricket team delayed its planned departure to Bangladesh after being warned by its government that there was a potential security risk from militants.

The touring side were due to fly from Sydney on Monday morning for the three-week tour which includes two Test matches.

On Monday the British government also warned that militants may be targeting western interests in the country, the same day that an Italian charity worker was shot dead by attackers in Dhaka.

"UK officials have been advised to limit attendance at events where westerners may gather," it said in a travel advisory.

Cricket Australia said it was seeking assurances from its Bangladesh counterpart before proceeding with the trip with a further round of scheduled for Tuesday.

Meetings

However, Australian officials were Tuesday returning from Bangladesh after meetings with high-level security figures, but no final decision has yet been taken on the upcoming Test tour, Cricket Australia said.

The team's departure was delayed on Sunday on security fears, prompting Dhaka to pledge to provide the kind of measures usually reserved for visiting heads of state if the tour goes ahead.

"There has been no change to our position on the matter," a spokeswoman for Cricket Australia told AFP via email on Tuesday.

CA's anti-corruption and security manager Sean Carroll met top security and intelligence officials in Dhaka on Monday.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, who insisted there was no risk to the players, were also at the meetings.

"Following yesterday's meetings, our head of security (Carroll), team manager (Gavin Dovey) and team security manager (Frank Dimasi) are on their way home from Bangladesh for further meetings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and to brief our board, management and players on the situation," the CA spokeswoman said.

In delaying the team's departure, CA chief executive James Sutherland said the Canberra government had identified a potential security risk to its nationals' interests in Bangladesh.

Australia's foreign ministry warned on Friday of "reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh".

Diplomatic zone

Cesare Tavella, who was aged around 50 and working at a Netherlands-based non-governmental organisation, was gunned down in Dhaka's diplomatic zone while on his evening walk, said Muntasirul Islam, spokesman for Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

He was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared him dead, Islam added. No other details were immediately available.

An online statement in the name of the hardline Islamist group Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying his attackers followed him and shot him dead.

Police said they were not aware of the claim, which could not be independently verified.

Witnesses said Tavella had been followed before he was killed.

"Three men riding on a motorbike shot him and fled," one witness told reporters.

Security

Earlier on Monday, Bangladesh had promised to provide the Australian cricket team with the highest level of security, saying it was shocked they were considering cancelling a tour on fears  militants could target Australians.

After meeting Cricket Australia (CA) officials in Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the Aussies would get security usually reserved for visiting heads of state if they went ahead with the tour starting this week.

"The highest security protocol will be provided for the Australian cricket team," Khan told reporters.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said the Australian foreign ministry's advice to delay the team's departure on Sunday "has shocked me". 

"This is very disappointing for us. There is no risk for them in Bangladesh," Hassan told reporters.

Australia are now booked on a flight to Bangladesh late Tuesday but will await security briefings over fears militants could target Australians before deciding whether to go ahead.

CA's anti-corruption and security manager Sean Carroll and two other Australian officials met top security and intelligence figures in Dhaka on Monday, along with home minister Khan and BCB chief Hassan, Dhaka cricket officials said.

Sunday's planned departure was blocked after the foreign affairs ministry in Canberra warned that "militants may be planning to target Australian interests".

"This is not one of the ones you want to get wrong," Australia's team performance manager Pat Howard said Monday.

"Today is a big day, we have a lot of meetings, a lot of people on the ground. We want to make sure we are not under-reacting, but also not over-reacting."

"The advice we got was pretty direct against Australians and we want to make sure we're doing our due diligence.

"We've bought ourselves 72 hours, but Cricket Australia is not going to put the players at risk."

He added that there was no specific threat against the Australian side.

Minister Khan on Sunday rejected as "groundless" any security threat to the tourists and said he hoped the games would go ahead.

Bangladesh are scheduled to host Australia for the first Test from October 9-13 in Chittagong and the second from October 17-21 in Dhaka. A three-day warm-up match was set to start on October 3 in Fatullah.

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