Washington DC: August 8, 2015. (PCP) The United States condemns the cowardly murder of writer/blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay in Bangladesh. We offer our condolences to his family and our support to the Bangladeshi people. This heinous act once again underscores the need to work together to counter violent extremism. We stand with Bangladeshis who reject this vicious act and who work to protect space for freedom of expression. Niloy Neel a secularist blogger was hacked to death in the capital Dhaka, according to police reports, making it the fourth such attack this year. Niloy Neel was attacked by a gang armed with machetes in his home in the capital's Goran neighbourhood on 7 August, according to the Bangladesh Blogger and Activist Network. Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladeshi branch of al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent, claimed responsibility for the murder, calling Neel "an enemy of Allah". The assailants entered Neel's room and shoved his friend aside and then hacked Neel to death. According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), Neel was decapitated and his hands had been cut off. Police said six attackers pretended to be looking to rent a flat and managed to break in. "Two of them then took him to a room and then slaughtered him there. His wife was in the flat but she was confined to another room," deputy police commissioner Muntashirul Islam told AFP.