Armed men have attacked a restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter, taking up to 40 hostages and killing at least 2 police officers. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
03 July 2016
Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan maintains that the Islamists killed during a hostage crisis at a Dhaka restaurant were not members of the Islamic State terror group (ISIS/ISIL).
“They are members of the Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh,” the minister told AFP, stressing that the terrorists that slaughtered 20 hostages, all of whom were foreigners, “have no connections with the Islamic State.” The Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Islamist group has been banned in Bangladesh for over a decade now.
Since the very beginning of the 11-hour siege that ended in the deaths of 26 people, six of whom were terrorists, the government has consistently denied that any internationally-linked terrorists were operating in Bangladesh. A seventh terrorist was arrested and is currently being interrogated.
Minister Khan specifically noted that most of the gunmen that were killed came from wealthy families and had been well educated.
“They are all highly educated young men and went to university. No one is from a madrassa,” the minister said, explaining that the young men had become Islamic extremists because “it has become a fashion.”
02 July 2016
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the Dhaka attack “despicable” and said it “pained us beyond words” during his conversation with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina.
All the attackers in Friday's deadly attack on the cafe in Dhaka were Bangladeshi citizens, Police Inspector General Shahidul Hoque told CNN on Saturday. He also said that police had previously tried to arrest five of the assailants.
The US State Department has confirmed that an American citizen was also among those killed in the terror attack in Bangladesh. “We can confirm that a US citizen was also among those senselessly murdered in this attack,” the department said in a statement on Saturday, which gave no further details were given on victim’s identity.
Thirteen hostages were rescued from the besieged cafe in Dhaka on Saturday, but some had already been killed, according to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who spoke to the nation in a televised speech. She said that six gunmen were killed and one was captured alive in a dawn raid conducted by Bangladeshi commandos. Hasina condemned the attack, calling it a “heinous act” unworthy of a Muslim, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. “Because of the effort of the joint force, the terrorists could not flee. It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people who kill other humans during Ramadan? They don't have any religion, their only religion is terrorism,” Hasina stressed.
In an official statement issued on Saturday, French President Francois Hollande expressed support for and solidarity with the Bangladeshi authorities in the wake of the attack on the cafe in Dhaka, while stressing the need to mobilize forces to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ ISIL) terrorists globally.
“Islamist terrorism strikes everywhere. The global community must unite to ruthlessly fight [the terrorists,” the statement released by the Élysée Palace read.
Seven Japanese citizens have been confirmed dead after the deadly attacks in Bangladesh’s capital. The announcement was made by the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
Two students from Emory University in Georgia were among those killed by terrorists. One of the victims, named as Abinta Kabir, was an undergraduate student at the university in Atlanta from Miami, Florida. She was in Bangladesh to visit family and friends. The second student was named as Faraaz Hossain, who was from Dhaka.
“The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of one of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Abinta and her family and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time,” a statement on the university’s website read.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta, their friends and family for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time," the university also tweeted.
Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, has declared two days of national mourning for those who died in the deadly attack on a cafe in the country’s capital city of Dhaka, according to Reuters.
Italy’s Foreign Minister has confirmed that nine Italian citizens were killed in the Dhaka attack.
“We have identified nine [Italians] killed. There is another person who is missing and could be hiding himself or could be among wounded people... We are looking for him,” Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters.
A Bangladesh army spokesman has said that authorities now believe some of the 20 victims were locals, not foreign citizens, as quoted by Reuters.
India’s foreign minister said that one Indian citizen was among the hostages killed in the Dhaka cafe.
A Bangladesh army spokesman said that all 20 victims of the attack were foreigners, the majority of which were Italian and Japanese, Reuters reported.
A Bangladesh army spokesperson has said one Japanese citizen and two Sri Lankans were among the 13 people rescued from the Dhaka cafe siege. Addressing the media after the operation, he reported that a total of 26 people had been killed.
Most of the victims were killed on Friday night “with sharp weapons,” Reuters quotes the spokesman as saying.
There were no Russian citizens among the hostages in the besieged Dhaka café, the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh has stated.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said in a TV broadcast that 13 hostages were rescued from the café, but some were killed. He also confirmed that six attackers were killed and one was captured alive by security forces.
Dhaka café has been cleared and security forces are searching the area, Lieutenant Colonel Masood of the Rapid Action Battalion told India’s Times Now broadcaster.
“We have gunned down six. We are searching the area around,” Masood said.
The Japanese government has confirmed that one of their citizens has been rescued from the besieged Dhaka restaurant. Seven more were inside, but officials have not been able to contact them so far, Reuters reports.
Bangladesh police said six gunmen were killed in a rescue operation that cleared the main building, Reuters reported. Thirteen hostages, including three foreigners, were freed from the cafe, according to AP.
Two massive blasts were heard in the Dhaka restaurant, according to police. It is unclear what caused the explosions.
According to local TV, at least 10 people have been rescued from the cafe, including two foreigners, Reuters reports. This information could not be immediately confirmed.
At least one injured person, possibly a foreigner, has been freed from the cafe, according to reports.
Local police say that more than 100 troops are fighting the gunmen, who are firing back, Reuters reports.
Bangladeshi forces have started an operation to free up to 40 hostages from the Dhaka restaurant that was stormed by ISIS gunmen.
"Our commandos have stormed into the restaurant. Intense gunfighting on," Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a deputy director at the Rapid Action Battalion force, told Reuters.
Graphic photos have reportedly been posted online from the hostage crisis in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. In the photos, a pool of blood is visible around the bodies laid on the floor.
01 July 2016
"It is a suicide attack. They want to carry out a powerful and bloody operation and there is no room for negotiation," Italy's ambassador to Bangladesh, Mario Palma, told Italian state TV.
Bangladeshi police are preparing an operation to free some 20 hostages, including foreigners, from the Dhaka restaurant, Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan of the Rapid Action Battalion told Reuters.
Bangladesh police officials said they haven't been able to speak to those who stormed the Dhaka restaurant, Reuters reported.
Seven Italian nationals are among the hostages in the Dhaka siege, Reuters reported citing the Italian ambassador's statement to state TV.
A forth message reportedly from the Islamic State claims that 24 people have been killed "including foreigners," according to SITE Intelligence.
Security forces in Dhaka, however, said only two police officers had been killed and at least 15 other people were injured while they attempt to free the hostages, Reuters reports.
Italians are said to be held among the hostages, a source within Italian Foreign Ministry told Italian public broadcaster TV RAI. The report was later confirmed by Italy’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, on Twitter, who said the Italian authorities have notified the families and are in contact with Bangladeshi authorities.
“I am closely following the situation in Dhaka. Anxious for the Italians involved,” he wrote.
No US citizens are held among the hostages, the State Department has confirmed.
“This is a very serious diplomatic area, there are many embassies, including the delegation of the European Union, the French embassy, the Dutch embassy and the Russian embassy,” Syed Ishtiak Reza, director at Ekattor TV, a leading satellite television channel in Bangladesh, told RT.
“We are expecting a heavy fight,” he said.
Earlier reports spoke of 1 dead, and 35 injured.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Dhaka hostage-taking, according to Amaq News Agency affiliate with the terror group.
However, some have pointed to the Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al-Qaeda group, as the likely culprit. The group's Twitter account has reportedly been shut down.
The ISIS-affiliated Amaq agency is claiming that at least 20 hostages have been killed in the Dhaka, Bangladesh siege, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
Four police officers have died, while the gunmen are holding approximately 40 hostages, including at least one Westerner, NBC News reported, citing Assistant Superintendent Fazle-e-Elahi.
US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the hostage situation in Dhaka, White House officials said.
“We heard the shooting noise and blasting bombs… It is quiet now,” a witness who lives a kilometer from the restaurant told RT.
“I’m particularly worried about what is going to happen in the next hours…” the man said, adding that he doesn’t know what actions local authorities are taking and he is concerned that if police try to catch the attackers, it may lead to more bloodshed.
One of the attackers was armed with a sword, the others carried guns, an employee of a nearby café told RT.
Police have reportedly asked the media to stop live reporting of events unfolding while they attempt to negotiate with gunmen to release hostages.
Chief of the Rapid Action Battalion, Benjir Ahmed said "derailed youths" entered the restaurant and launched the attack.
"We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want," he added, according to the Guardian.
Security forces have not yet entered the premisis where around 8 or 9 gunmen are reportedly holding people hostage, but are planning a rescue operation shortly.
Militant group 'Ansar al-Islam' said "crusaders" were taken hostage in a series of tweets, which have now been deleted.
No group has taken responsibility yet.
A number of foreignrs are believed to have been taken hostage, including Italian and Argentinian nationals.
One of the policemen injured during the shootout has died of his wounds, a senior official in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) confirmed.
Local media reports in Bangladesh said that gunmen reportedly entered the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe, which is located in area populated with expats.