Story highlights Al Qaeda's Bangladesh branch claims responsibility for the killing of blogger

"This spate of savage killings must end here," an Amnesty International representative says

The blogger, who used the pen name Niloy Neel, was murdered in his apartment, police say

Five or six men attacked Neel, who wrote posts condemning other recent killings of bloggers

(CNN) A group of attackers hacked a Bangladeshi blogger to death Friday in his apartment in the capital of Dhaka, authorities said.

The killing of the secular blogger, who uses the pen name Niloy Neel, was at least the fourth this year targeting those who posted online pieces critical of Islam.

In addition to police, Imran Sarker, who heads the Blogger and Online Activists' Network in the nation, confirmed the attack.

Neel wrote posts condemning the recent killings of three other bloggers in his country. He also routinely posted on women's and minority rights, communal violence and the oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh.

Niloy Neel

Dhaka Police spokesman, Muntashirul Islam, used a different name for the blogger, whom he referred to as Niloy Chakrabarti.

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