Islamic militants hacked blogger to death in street escape court on motorbike

Suspected members of the Al-Qaeda militant group stormed a motorcade after arriving at the Dhaka court complex in Bangladesh, seizing the two suspects and sparking a nationwide manhunt

Avijit Roy, killed in an attack in Dacca at the age of 42 (

Image: Facebook)

Two Islamist activists sentenced to death in Bangladesh for killing an American blogger who was critical of fundamentalist Islam escaped from court on motorbikes and went on the run.

As a group headed for a court hearing on Sunday, two of the convicts escaped in what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack.

Suspected members of the militant group Al-Qaeda stormed the motorcade once it arrived at the court complex in Dhaka.

Several motorcycles docked the police escort, then a poisonous substance was sprayed into the officers' eyes, temporarily blinding them, and then the two prisoners were taken away on the bicycles.

Moinul Hasan Shamim and Abu Siddiq Sohel have not been seen since, and the government has launched a nationwide police hunt.

Death row prisoners Moinul Hasan Shamim and Abu Siddiq Sohel

Death row prisoners Moinul Hasan Shamim and Abu Siddiq Sohel

Police have announced a 2 million taka (£16,350) reward to find the convicts.

Bangladeshi-American writer and blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death on the streets of Dhaka in 2015 by the group that claimed to be inspired by al-Qaeda.

Mr Roy's editor, Faisal Arefin Dipan, was...