Bangladesh executes leader of Islamist party

A senior government official says the head of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party has been executed for his role in acts of genocide and war crimes during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan says Motiur Rahman Nizami , leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was hung at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday inside Dhaka central jail amid tight security.

Nizami had sought a review of his death sentence, but the country's Supreme Court upheld his punishment after he was convicted of three major charges stemming from the 1971 war — including the killings of 480 people. He was also held responsible for the killings of dozens of intellectuals, including teachers, journalists and doctors, just two days before Bangladesh gained independence in 1971.