An American blogger critical of religious extremism was hacked to death in what many perceived to be Bangladesh's version of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Avijit Roy, a U.S. Citizen, is a prominent advocate of free expression and rationalist ideas in Bangladesh.  He is well known for his writings that went against religious extremism - a thing that has been enraging Islamist radicals.

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Roy and his wife Rafida Ahmed, also a blogger, were attacked on Thursday by machete-wielding assailants while returning from a book fair.  Ahmed survived, but was seriously injured.

Initial reports said at least two of the assailants attacked the couple with meat cleavers.  Authorities later retrieved two machetes from the site. The suspects remain unidentified, but police are closing in on the Ansarullah Bangla Team, a Bangladesh-based Islamist extremist group that claimed responsibility for the attack.

Roy, who lives in the U.S. with his wife, were in Dhaka to attend the book fair. Roy's killing comes amid the country's crackdown on Islamist radicals.

Roy's father, Arjay Roy, was confident Islamist radicals were behind his son's death.  He said the blogger had been receiving threats from Islamist hardliners in recent weeks over his blog entitled, "Mukto-mona," or "Freemind," which contained writings that highlighted secularism.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki branded the killing as horrific but a cowardly act. Psaki said the U.S. is ready to help in the investigation.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric likewise condemned the attack, saying freedom of expression must be upheld in Bangladesh, while a New York-based press freedom watchdog called for a speedy and thorough probe.

Some of Roy's colleagues were shocked upon hearing the news of his death. 

"Dr. Roy was a true ally, a courageous and eloquent defender of reason, science, and free expression, in a country where those values have been under heavy attack," The Center for Inquiry, a U.S.-based nonprofit group Roy wrote for, said in a statement.

Religious extremists have been linked in the past to the death of several known secularist bloggers in Bangladesh.

In 2013, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed near his home in Dhaka after leading a protest calling for capital punishment.

In 2004, Humayun Azad, a writer and professor at Dhaka University, was also attacked while returning home from a Dhaka book fair.

Reporters Without Borders had rated Bangladesh 146th among 180 countries in last year's press freedom ranking.

TagsBangladesh, press freedom, Blogger, Murder, avijit roy, Charlie Hebdo