DHAKA — The cafes and restaurants are empty. The chatter of guests in hotel lobbies has gone quiet. The high-walled embassy compounds are even more closely guarded. The recent killings of two foreigners in Bangladesh — an Italian and a Japanese — has spooked tourists and expatriates in the impoverished South Asian nation, raising alarms about whether Islamic radicals are gaining a foothold and whether foreigners are safe in the moderate, secular nation. The Daesh (so-called IS) claimed responsibility for both killings, but the Bangladeshi government denied the extremist group was involved. Instead, it accused the opposition of supporting a conspiracy to destabilize the country of 160 million — a charge the opposition denies. Any lost confidence in security could damage the country's economy, which relies heavily on foreign aid and investment. Already, hotels and shops catering to the foreign community said they were seeing losses. — AP
