Story highlights Both men were activists for gay, lesbian, transgender rights

Al Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for killings

The slain USAID worker was also editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine

(CNN) Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladeshi division of al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, has claimed responsibility for the killings of two LGBT-rights activists who were hacked to death Monday evening in Dhaka.

The claim was made in a statement distributed on social media.

Xulhaz Mannan

USAID, an American government agency for poverty prevention, identified one victim as Xulhaz Mannan. Mannan worked at the organization but also served as editor of the country's first LGBT magazine. "Today, USAID lost one of our own," the statement said.

"He was the kind of person willing to fight for what he believed in, someone ready to stand up for his own rights and the rights of others," USAID Administrator Gayle Smith said in a statement.

Tanay Mojumdar

The other victim was Tanay Mojumdar. Like Mannan, he was openly gay and was a leader in the fight for LGBT rights, a British photographer told CNN's Ivan Watson. The photographer did not want to be named for fear of being barred from Bangladesh.