By JULFIKAR ALI MANIK and NIDA NAJAR

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — A Buddhist monk was found hacked to death in his temple on Saturday in a remote region of southeastern Bangladesh. The killing appeared to bear some similarities to recent attacks claimed by Islamist extremists, but the police said it was too soon to determine whether it was another such murder.

The monk, Mong Shwe U Chak, 75, was found dead on the floor of the temple at 7 a.m. by his daughter-in-law, said Mizanur Rahman, the police superintendent in the Bandarban district, where the temple is.

The monk’s neck had apparently been slashed with a machete, given the depth of one of the cuts, Mr. Rahman said. Three sets of footprints suggested that there had been at least three attackers, he said.

Mr. Rahman said the police were investigating the possibility that Islamist militants had killed the monk. Over the past two years, similar killings have taken place, targeting intellectuals, activists, secularist bloggers and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh. Many of the attacks were carried out by groups of men using machetes.