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2 shot dead in Bangladesh as tensions heat up on anniversary of 2014 general election

Associated Press
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Bangladeshi people gather near a burnt vehicle, torched by Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters and activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. Two men on a motorbike opened fire on a group of anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh on Monday, killing two amid heightened tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year, a local opposition leader said. (AP Photo/Suvra Kanti Das) (The Associated Press)

Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia holds a black flag as she stands at her office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. Two men on a motorbike opened fire on a group of anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh on Monday, killing two amid heightened tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year, a local opposition leader said. (AP Photo/Suvra Kanti Das) (The Associated Press)

Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami party activists set fire to a police motorbike in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. Two men on a motorbike opened fire on a group of anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh on Monday, killing two amid heightened tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year, a local opposition leader said. (AP Photo/S.K. Hasan Ali) (The Associated Press)

Two men on a motorbike have opened fire on anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh, killing two amid tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year.

Aminul Haque, a local leader from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, says the shooting took place Monday in Natore district, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka.

Police would not immediately confirm the identities of the dead, but Haque said they were activists from the party's student wing.

The Jan. 5 election last year was boycotted by a major opposition alliance led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Tensions heated up recently after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party announced rallies to celebrate the anniversary, while Zia said anti-government protests would take place.