Dhaka, Sep 29 (IANS): And Italian aid worker who was murdered in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka was shot three times from behind at a close range, a forensic expert who conducted the autopsy said on Tuesday.

Cesare Tavella, 50, was gunned down by unidentified assailants on Monday evening in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan enclave, bdnews24 reported.

“One bullet hit his left hand. It was a through and through gunshot. He was also shot twice in his back. One of those bullets pierced through his chest,” said expert Abu Shama on Tuesday.

The forensic team removed the third bullet that was stuck in Tavella’s body during autopsy.

“He was shot from a close range. It appears that these bullets were fired from a revolver,” Abu Shama added.

Tavella worked as the project manager at the Netherlands-based NGO ICCO Cooperation’s Profitable Opportunities for Food Security (PROOFS) programme.

One of the witnesses, a rickshaw mechanic, said he saw three assailants fleeing on a motorcycle. One of them had a gun.

Jihadi threat monitoring portal SITE Intelligence Group on Monday night said the Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed responsibility for the murder.

The Bangladesh government is, however, yet to confirm that as Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the murder was an "isolated incident".

The Italian national’s murder took place only two days after the Australian cricket team decided to delay its tour to Bangladesh after their government warned of possible militant attacks on "Australian interests".

After Australia, both Britian and the US claimed to have received information that militants might target their interests in Bangladesh and advised their citizens to limit their movements in the country.