A Christian grocer has been hacked to death in north-west Bangladesh amid a rise in deadly attacks by Islamist militants on religious minorities and secular activists.

Key points: IS claims responsibility for the murder of 65-year-old Christian grocer

IS claims responsibility for the murder of 65-year-old Christian grocer Wife of anti-terrorism policeman killed by suspected extremist group

Wife of anti-terrorism policeman killed by suspected extremist group Increasing violence striking Bangladesh under an Islamist extremist crackdown

Unidentified attackers murdered 65-year-old Sunil Gomes in the village of Bonpara, home to one of the oldest Christian communities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

"Sunil Gomes was hacked to death at his grocery store just near a church at Bonpara village," said the deputy police chief of the surrounding Natore district, Shafiqul Islam.

Another police officer, Inspector Abdur Razzak, said the motive for the killing was unclear.

But the attack was similar to those on Hindus and members of other religious minorities in recent months.

Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of murders of liberals, secular activists and religious minorities that have left more than 40 people dead in the last three years.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the murder through its Amaq news agency, according to the SITE monitoring group, saying it was "part of a series of operations" in Bangladesh.

Attacks by homegrown Islamists have spiked in recent weeks, authorities have said, but authorities deny these groups are present in the country.

Bangladesh's secular government accuses political rivals, including the largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, of trying to destabilise the country.

Experts say a Government crackdown on opponents, including a ban on Jamaat following a protracted political crisis, has pushed many towards extremism.

Wife of anti-terror policeman also killed

The murder came just hours after the wife of a top anti-terror officer was brutally killed in the south-eastern city of Chittagong, by suspected members of a local banned extremist group.

Three unidentified men stabbed and then shot Mahmuda Begum in the head as she walked her son to a school bus stop near her home, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Moktar Hossain.

Ms Begum was the wife of Babul Akter, who has led several high-profile operations against the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant group in Chittagong in recent months.

"We suspect JMB or local Islamist extremists for the attack. Akter led successful anti-militant raids in Chittagong in which several JMB men were arrested," Mr Hossain said.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the attack was revenge for Mr Akter's role in tracking down militants.

"Babul Akter is a skilled and honest officer who played vital roles in combating militants. That's why they killed his wife as they could not find him," Mr Khan told AFP.

A Hindu trader was hacked to death last week, days after a homoeopathic doctor was slaughtered along with a Buddhist monk.

Last year an Italian-born Catholic priest was shot and critically injured in the north, while an Italian aid worker was shot and killed in Dhaka.

Attackers also tried to slit the throat of a pastor in another north-western town shortly afterwards.

Bangladesh's secular government blames political rivals for the killings, but experts say a government crackdown on opponents, including a ban on the largest Islamist party following a protracted political crisis, has pushed many towards extremism.

AFP