U.S. Condemns 'Brutal Murder' of Blogger in Bangladesh

Washington Friday condemned the "brutality and cowardice" of the killing of an American blogger of Bangladeshi origin and called his murder an assault on the country's "proud tradition" of free speech.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the brutal murder of Avijit Roy," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

"He was taken from us in a shocking act of violence," she told reporters.

Roy, founder of Mukto-Mona (Free-mind) blog, was attacked by unknown assailants as he returned home from a book fair with his wife on Thursday evening, and hacked to death with machetes.

He had allegedly received threats from Islamic militants due to his books and a prominent blog which championed liberal secular writing in the Muslim-majority nation.

"This was not just an attack against a person, but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh's constitution, and the country's proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse," Psaki said.

She offered condolences to his family as his wife, who is also a blogger, was moved to a clinic for further treatment after she was seriously injured in the attack.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.