Dhaka, May 21 (PTI): A homeopathy doctor was today hacked to death and a professor was seriously wounded by Islamic State militants with machetes in Bangladesh.

Dr Sanaur Rahman, 58, was riding home on his motorbike along with Saifuzzaman, assistant professor of Bangla literature at Islami University, when they were attacked by the militants in Kushtia town this morning.

Rahman died on the spot while Saifuzzaman was been shifted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition, the police said.

Rahman, along with Saifuzzaman, was returning to his native village at Shishirmath to give free medical treatment to local residents, Sahabuddin Choudhury, officer-in-charge of Kushtia model police station, said.

Choudhury said Rahman and Saifuzzaman were attacked with machetes indiscriminately. He said the it was similar to previous murders of bloggers and secular activists in Bangladesh.

The IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Fighters from the Islamic State assassinated a doctor who called to Christianity in Kushtia, western Bangladesh," the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to the Site Intelligence Group.

Proloy Chisim, Kushtia superintendent of police, said they were also probing whether personal enmity was behind the murder.

Both the doctor and the professor were fans of Baul music, which is popular in western Bangladesh.

Rahman also used to arrange musical concerts based on the Baul tradition at his native village every Friday, his relative said.

Earlier this month, a 65-year-old Sufi preacher was hacked to death by unidentified assailants in northwest Bangladesh, two weeks after a liberal university professor was killed in a similar attack claimed by the IS.

20 killed by cyclone

At least 20 people were killed as cyclone Roanu battered Bangladesh's southern coast today, leaving a trail of destruction and prompting authorities to evacuate about five lakh people.

With a wind speed of up to 88kmph, the cyclone hit the Barisal-Chittagong region, sending impacts across the country. Most places witnessed rain and thundershowers accompanied by gusty wind since early morning.