Police in Bangladesh say a 75-year-old Buddhist monk has been hacked to death in the south-eastern district of Bandarban.

An official said the monk's body was found inside a Buddhist temple.

It is the latest in a spate of murders of religious minorities, secular activists and academics.

More than 20 people have been killed by suspected Islamists in the last three years.

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Police said Maung Shue U Chak appeared to have been attacked by at least four people at the temple in Baishari, 350km (220 miles) south-east of the capital Dhaka.

His killing follows the murder of two prominent gay activists, a law student and a university professor in April.

In February a Hindu priest was beheaded in northern Bangladesh.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group and a Bangladeshi militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda have said they carried out some of the killings.

IS has also said it carried out attacks on Shia Muslim mosques and shrines as well as the killings of two foreigners - an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farming expert - last year.

Earlier this month Singapore deported eight Bangladeshis it said were members of a group set up in March called Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) and were plotting attacks in their homeland.

However the Bangladeshi government denies there is an IS presence in the country.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh is officially secular but critics say the government has failed to take appropriate action in the wake of the attacks.