20 hostages killed in 'Isil' attack on Dhaka restaurant popular with foreigners 

Here is the breakdown of the victims' nationalities, according to the Daily Star:

• 9 Italians
• 7 Japanese
• 3 Bangladeshis
• 1 Indian

Pope Francis said in a statement released by the Vatican Saturday he was “deeply saddened by the senseless violence perpetrated against innocent victims in Dhaka”.  He expressed his heartfelt condolences for the victims and their families and condemned these “barbarous acts” as “offences against God and humanity”.

 

Emory University in the US state of Georgia confirms that two of its students were killed in the attack in Dhaka. Abinta Kabir was in the second year and was from Miami, while Faraaz Hossain was studying at the business school and was from Bangladesh.

Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, said Saturday the whole country was united in its tears for the victims of the Dhaka terrorist attack as the government confirmed nine of the victims were Italian nationals.  

“All of Italy is united in crying for our countrymen killed in Dhaka,” Mr Renzi Tweeted.   “Our values are stronger than hatred and terror.”

 

Italy's government says nine of its citizens have been identified among the dead. A tenth body has yet to be identified and may be an Italian. 

One of the dead is a 47-year-old man from town of Feletto Umberto in northern Italy. The man was the father to three-year-old twins, according to Italy's ANSA news agency.

A Bangladeshi MP whose constituency is in Dhaka tweets this picture: 

 

The Army said earlier that all 20 of the dead were foreigners but they are now walking back from that and saying some of the dead may be locals:

 Bangladeshi authorities now believe that not all of the 20 victims killed in an attack on a cafe in Dhaka were foreigners, army spokesman Colonel Rashidul Hasan told Reuters.

The army had said earlier on Saturday that all 20 people killed were foreign but now believes some were locals. The army will not be able to release the victims' nationalities until later on Saturday, he said.

The Daily Star reports that at least four of the dead are Bangladeshi.

 India's foreign minister confirms that an Indian student is among the dead in Dhaka. Tarushi Jain was studying at Berkeley in California after graduating from secondary school in Dhaka.

 

The eight Japanese hostages in the restaurant were outside consultants working for Japan's development agency on an infrastructure project in Bangladesh. One of them was saved, the other seven are unaccounted for. 

Devirupa Mitra, a journalist with Indian news site The Wire, says eight Italians were killed in the siege. The army hasn't confirmed numbers yet but they did say several of the dead were Italian.

 

The two Bangladeshi police officers killed in the raid appear to have been killed by shrapnel from the explosions. One was hit in the chest and the other was hit in the throat, according to the pathologist who examined their bodies. 

Andrew Marszalreports on mood in this affluent corner of the Bangladeshi capital:

An eerie calm gripped Gulshan at midday on Saturday as a police blockade on the entire neighbourhood - a well-heeled peninsula separated from the city narrow canals - prevented cars from coming or going.

Armed security guards continued to sit sternly outside the area's various five-star hotels, expensive residences and nearby embassies of nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran, highlighting the heavy security in this district that made the attack - unprecedented in Bangladesh's history - so audacious.

Neighbourhood international schools were thankfully deserted with the attack taking place at he start of the Eid holiday week.

Outside the International Club, an exclusive expat members institution, row upon row of unused armoured swat cars and police 4x4s remained on watch.

The Japanese government says seven of its citizens are unaccounted for at the Dhaka restaurant. An eighth hostage was rescued but suffered a gunshot wound. All eight were eating together at Holey Artisan Bakery when the attackers burst in.

Two Sri Lankans were also among the rescued.

The use of sharp weapons in the Dhaka restaurant is a particularly dark detail but Bangladesh has a long history of Islamists using blades.

At least six secular bloggers and activists have been hacked to death in Bangladesh since the beginning of 2015. The most recent was in Nazim Uddin, a 28-year-old law student who criticised Islamic fundamentalism. He was murdered in April on the street in Dhaka.

 

The Bangladeshi military says all of the dead hostages were foreign and that most were Italians or Japanese.

"All 20 of the hostages who were killed were foreigners," said Lieutenant Shahab Uddin told AFP. "Most of them were Italian or Japanese," he added without giving an exact breakdown of the toll.

The PM voiced her frustration with some TV news networks which continued broadcasting live from the scene even though the government had asked them to stop because it might tip off the gunmen.

 

Six of the attackers were killed and one has been taken alive, according to Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh. Two policemen were also killed along with the 20 hostages. 

 

We've heard of Islamist gunmen dividing Muslim hostages from non-Muslim hostages before. During the 2015  attack on the Raddison Blu hotel in Mali, the killers made their captives recite the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith ("There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.")

Those who were able to recite the Shahada were allowed to leave while the gunmen held on to the non-Muslim captives. 20 hostages were killed.

 

The Daily Star in Bangladesh has a chilling account of how hostages were made to recite the Koran. The hostages who could were not harmed - those who couldn't were tortured. 

Those who could recite a verse from the Quran were spared, others were tortured, said a rescued hostage of the Gulshan restaurant attack where at least two lawmen were killed.

“The others were tortured by the gunmen,” said Rezaul Karim, father of Hasnat Karim who was held hostage inside Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic zone for over 10 hours...

“They (gunmen) did not behave rough with the Bangladesh nationals,” Reazul said quoting his victim son Hasnat. “Rather they provided night meals for all Bangladeshis.”

“The gunmen were doing a background check on religion by asking everyone to recite from the Quran. Those who could recite a verse or two were spared. The others were tortured.”

A Bangladesh army official says 20 people were killed in the restaurant attack

Andrew Marszal has filed with the latest information from Dhaka.

The Bangladesh army is due to hold a press conference within minutes, in which details of the casualties - both hostages and gunmen - are expected to be divulged. 

At this stage at least five attackers are known to have been shot dead during a raid on the Holey Bakery, an expatriates' favourite, at around 10am on Saturday. Some reports said as many as six had been killed. Two or three are rumoured to have been arrested.

There has been no confirmation of hostage deaths yet. At least 13 were rescued, including four foreigners, but several foreign nationals remain unaccounted for.

The siege in Gulshan, Bangladesh's most affluent district, came to a bloody end as the assailants threw hand grenades at special forces police. Police used snipers, armoured cars and Swat teams.

Police continued to seal off the site at midday, with loud explosions punctuating the growing calm as potential booby traps were cleared inside.

At around 11.30am a white van containing three handcuffed men left the restaurant site. They were wearing the restaurant's staff uniform, though police did not confirm any suspects had been arrested.

The nationalities of the hostages are not yet verified, although several Italians and Japanese are thought to have been in the building. The British foreign office would not comment on whether any Britons were at the scene.

The attackers shouted Allahu Akbhar as they stormed the restaurant, but their affiliation to either Isil or al-Qaeda - both of whom have claimed the attack - cannot be confirmed.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given a televised speech after the attack on the restaurant.

"It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion.

"People must resist these terrorists. My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh."

 Japan said on Saturday that one of its citizens, who was among those rescued, had been shot and wounded in the attack. 

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said the injuries were not life threatening.

Seven other Japanese were eating together at the restaurant, but Japan's government has not been able to contact them, Mr Hagiuda said.

The owner of the Bangladeshi restaurant at the center of the bloody hostage-taking says he wasn't able to communicate with his staff.

Nasirul Alam Porag was in Bangkok on Saturday when news reached him that militants took dozens of hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area, a diplomatic zone. Ten hours later, security forces stormed the restaurant, killing at least six of the militants and rescuing 13 people.

Mr Porag told the Associated Press: "Up until five minutes ago I didn't know anything. There is no one on the ground we can communicate with, not even the staff."

He said the restaurant employs about 50 staff but 20 were present at the time of the attack.

It opened two years ago, and he is one of three owners. They decided to open a new restaurant in Bangkok, which he is managing.

Two police officers were killed at the start of the siege as they battled the hostage-takers who were heavily armed with explosives.

"The operation is over. The situation is completely under control," army spokesman Colonel Rashidul Hasan told AFP.

Tuhin Mohammad Masud, a commander of the elite Rapid Action Battalion which led the storming operation, said the cafe itself had been cleared but added that some of the hostage-takers might still be at large.

"We have gunned down six of the terrorists.  The main area that they have been occupying has been cleared... Maybe some of them have escaped into a larger area."

There was no official word on the number of hostages who had been killed or wounded but Masud said that "obviously there have been casualties".

Lt. Col. Tuhin Mohammad Masud tells the Associated Press that some militants were captured.

We have gunned down at least six terrorists and the main building is cleared but the operation is still going on.

Lt. Col Masud says the rescued include a Japanese, who was injured, and two Sri Lankans.

He says there are casualties among other hostages, but did not provide details.

Indian television reports is reporting more details about the hostages whom were rescued.. 

"Three of them are foreigners. Ten locals," Tuhin Mohammad Masud, a commander of the elite Rapid Action Battalion which stormed the cafe, told India's Times Now television network.

An official says 13 people have been rescued. 

Police say the Bangladesh siege cafe has been cleared, and six gunmen killed, AFP reports. 

The Dhaka Tribune is reporting that 18 hostages have been rescued from the restaurant, quoting a senior police official. 

AP reports that two big explosions have been heard inside Dhaka restaurant. It also reports a police official saying 5 bodies have been found. 

The number of gunmen and hostages still in the restaurant remains unclear, Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a deputy director at the Rapid Action Battalion force, tells Reuters.

Thirteen hostages have been rescued so far, Lt Col Tuhin Mohammad Masud, commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion, tells the Daily Star. 

If confirmed, it would not be the first time Japanese have been caught up in suspected Islamist attacks in Bangladesh. In October,  Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting death of 65-year-old  Kunio Hoshi, 65, who was attacked in Kownia in Rangpur district, 200 miles north of the capital, Dhaka. Bangladesh denied Isil was involved. 

Quoting Bangladesh police, a Japanese spokesman says 12 people have been rescued from the restaurant.

He says he does not know if Japanese are among those rescued, Reuters reports. 

Earlier reports said Japanese citizens might be among those being held. One reportedly escaped at the start of the police operation. 

The gunfire has stopped but police say commandos are still inside the restaurant, Reuters reports. Police say 8-10 hostages have been rescued. 

Witnesses on the ground say the siege is over, but there is no official confirmation yet. Local television reports that at least 10 people, including two foreigners, have been rescued, according to Reuters. More than 100 commandos took part in the operation.

Five Bangladeshi hostages were rescued in the first few minutes of the operation, a security official has told AFP.

"They are rescued unharmed," he said.

There's still no official update on the outcome of the siege at this stage. Ambulances are on the scene, while the area remains cordoned off. 

One foreigner, probably Japanese, escaped from the restaurant during the operation to free the hostages, Reuters quotes police as saying.  

Emergency services are carrying away the wounded from the scene, with some unconfirmed reports suggesting the raid is over. 

Italian and Indian nationals are among the hostages, according to a duty officer at Rapid Action Battalion's (RAB) control room.

Italy's ambassador to Bangladesh, Mario Palma, told Italian state TV seven Italians were among the hostages. Palma said:

It is a suicide attack. They want to carry out a powerful and bloody operation and there is no room for negotiation.

The operation is ongoing amid blasts and gunfire.

Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a deputy director at the Rapid Action Battalion force, told Reuters: "Our commandos have stormed into the restaurant. Intense gunfighting on."

An AFP photographer at the scene says he could hear a massive gunfight as security forces launched the operation more than 10 hours after the hostages were taken.

 

The Daily Star reports that the operation began at 7.40am.

Witnesses say the SWAT team are carrying out the assault, while the Army is also present.

An official has told AFP that security forces are storming the restaurant.

Gruesome pictures are emerging showing the inside of the bakery, writes Andrew Marzal. They appear to show six dead bodies. 

A Dhaka resident has confirmed it's definitely the bakery - and the pictures appear to have been taken by gunmen. A witness said he saw three heavily armed gunmen on the roof of the bakery.

The police raid was due to begin at 5am but it has been delayed. No official reason has been given but it is thought they are still to complete the evacuation of nearby area.

Police are expected to try to storm the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant early on Saturday after daybreak.

Police chiefs, however, said they were still trying to establish contact with the attackers in a bid "to rescue everyone without any harm", AFP reports. 

"Some people are being held at gunpoint," said Monirul Islam, chief of the police Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit.

Japan says that Japanese citizens may be among the hostages being held in Bangladesh, AP reports.

The top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said at a hastily called news conference on Saturday morning in Tokyo that the government was trying to confirm the information.

He says the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka set up a response center at 2.45am.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that saving lives is the top priority.

REUTERS: BANGLADESH POLICE SAY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SPEAK TO DHAKA RESTAURANT ATTACKERS YET

REUTERS: BANGLADESH POLICE SAY PREPARING TO LAUNCH OPERATION AT DHAKA RESTAURANT, TO BEGIN AT DAWN

Around 15 minutes ago police began moving reporters and relatives away from the scene.

It's unclear why.

Sarah Labowitz, codirector of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, wrote an article in December warning that the terrorist threat was causing problems for Bangladesh's textiles sector - a vital part of the country's economy.

She wrote, in a blog post for the Council on Foreign Relations:

Deteriorating security, driven by Islamic extremism: In the last six months, violent attacks by homegrown extremist groups and the Islamic State killed four atheist bloggers and two foreign aid workers in Bangladesh.

After Cesare Tavella, an Italian aid worker, was shot and killed in downtown Dhaka while out for a jog in September, foreign buyers have started to pull their expat staff and are requiring factory owners to provide armed security guards for buying visits. The precautions add costs for suppliers while threats reinforce an image of Bangladesh as an undesirable and unstable place to do business.

The home minister has just arrived at the site, The Daily Star reports.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal is due to address reporters shortly.

 

A private Bangladeshi television station, Boishakhi TV, is reporting that children aged between five and eight are among the hostages.

It is impossible to verify their claims at the moment.

 

 

Reuters:

SEVEN ITALIANS AMONG HOSTAGES IN DHAKA CAFE ATTACK- ITALIAN STATE TV QUOTING ITALIAN AMBASSADOR TO BANGLADESH

Arafit Kabir, a US-based expert on Islam in Bangladesh, has been told by police sources that the authorities want to resolve the crisis peacefully - hence why they are yet to storm the building, seven hours after the initial attack.

 It is unclear how they hope to do this, given the death wish of most terrorists.

 

 

 

The past week has seen a string of attacks - in Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Istanbul and now Dakar.

Islamic State used the most recent issue of their propaganda magazine Dabiq to call for a Ramadan campaign.

The French Ambassador Sophie Aubert said the restaurant was "very popular" among diplomats and other foreigners in Dhaka.

She told AFP she was trying to confirm details of the attack.

"We're very concerned that there are some hostages inside."

Reuters is reporting that Italians are caught up in the Dhaka attack.

Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Twitter he was closely following the situation in Dhaka, adding he was "anxious for Italians involved" and expressing solidarity with their families.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi abruptly left a ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome on Friday evening to follow the hostage-taking incident, a source at his office said.

Italian state TV RAI broke off regular programming to give updates about the situation. It said Italians could be among the hostages or the victims.

The source at the Italian foreign ministry said families of people potentially involved were being contacted. 

 

 

Associated Press has just produced the following analysis:

 

The taking of hostages by gunmen in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter is the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked international alarm and prompted the United States and Bangladesh to promise more cooperation against violent extremism in the Muslim-majority nation.

But the two governments still tiptoe around the divisive issue of whether transnational terror groups like the Islamic State group are involved in the mounting bloodshed, which has included a wave of killings of liberals, foreigners and religious minorities.

The identities of those who attacked the Dhaka cafe late Friday were not immediately known. IS and al-Qaida affiliates have claimed responsibility for many of the previous attacks, typically by smaller groups of machete-wielding assailants, that have claimed nearly two dozen lives since 2013. The frequency of attacks has increased in recent months.

The violence has stoked fears over the rise of radicalism in the traditionally moderate country and cast a shadow over the achievements of its 160 million people in economic development and fighting poverty.

Bangladesh's government has blamed domestic groups aligned with political opposition parties, and maintains that groups like IS and al-Qaida have no presence in the country. Critics contend that stance in part reflects the country's deeply polarized politics and the government's increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

The United States, a key aid donor and export market for Bangladesh, has voiced growing concern over the violence, particularly after a former U.S. Embassy employee and gay rights activist was killed in April. The killing was claimed by Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh division of al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent.

Bangladesh's response to the violence was top of the agenda at annual high-level talks in Washington last week. The two sides shared the view that violent extremism is a global problem, and looked at ways they could improve cooperation through intelligence-sharing and programs to combat radicalization.

But Marcia Bernicat, the U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, said after the talks that they did not delve into what kind of reach that groups like IS may have inside Bangladesh. She said Bangladeshi officials steadfastly deny that IS or al-Qaida is in the country, but she thinks officials recognize the influence of those groups through social media is a danger that they have to address.

"If I go home now and turn on my computer, ISIS can send me a message on my Facebook page, or an email to me, or I can find ISIS if I want to and communicate with someone. This is a new kind of threat. They don't need to be in your country to affect things in your country," Bernicat said, using an alternative abbreviation for the Islamic State group.

Human rights activists have criticized Bangladeshi authorities' response to the killings, but the government has recently shown more resolve. Authorities rounded up nearly 200 suspected militants in a recent weeklong crackdown coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.

Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque said the FBI is currently based in Bangladesh providing support in identifying people who are in danger of turning radical. He said Bangladeshi authorities have made arrests and initiated legal cases in dozens of terrorist and extremist attacks.

"The government is providing whatever is possible within its limits and resources and will continue to do so. That is our commitment, coming from our prime minister," Haque said.

But the question of who is behind the attacks remains a sensitive one.

The government has accused local terrorists and opposition political parties - especially the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami - of orchestrating the violence in order to destabilize the nation, which both parties deny.

But speaking after the talks in Washington, Haque said: "The government is not blaming anyone. The government is trying to find out who is really involved in this."

Analysts contend that the shrinking democratic space in Bangladesh could be creating conditions for more extremism and pre-occupying over-stretched law enforcers. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has tightened her control after easily winning 2014 elections that the opposition parties boycotted, alleging unfair conditions. 

 

Fayad Munaim, who lives nearby, is speaking to CNN.

He said:

I was two blocks away and heard three loud bangs, and what sounded like gunfire.

The first three explosions happened at around 9pm. Then it kept going on for about half an hour, which I suppose must have been the police returning fire.

I'm on my balcony and it's pretty quiet.

The cops are just standing around, not doing much.

 

 

CNN say that police are telling them at least 40 are injured.

It is unclear how many people remain inside the restaurant.

 

Gunmen stormed a popular bakery and restaurant in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, at around 9pm local time.

They are believed to be holding up to 30 hostages, among them foreigners.

The gunmen are said to have been brandishing swords and crude bombs.

Grenades were thrown at the police. Two officers reportedly died in the attack.

Bangladeshi police have asked TV crews not to broadcast live. It is believed police are preparing to storm the building. 

 

Reuters:

WHITE HOUSE SAYS OBAMA HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN BANGLADESH

 

 

Bangladesh has seen an increase in militant Islamist violence over the last year. Deadly attacks have been mounted against atheists and members of religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country of 160 million people, with attackers often using machetes.

Militants killed two foreigners last year, leading several Western firms involved in the country's $25 billion garment sector to temporarily halt visits to Dhaka.

Both Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for militant attacks in the country. But the government denies foreign militant organizations are involved and blames two local groups, Ansar-al-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.

The U.S. State Department said all Americans working at the U.S. mission there had been accounted for.

A spokesman said in Washington the situation was "very fluid, very live".

Fayad Munaim, who is standing two streets away, told CNN he heard a huge explosion shortly after the attack begun.

Bangladeshi police have asked tv crews not to broadcast live scenes from the site.

 

 

 

The British foreign office said in a statement:

"We are urgently seeking more information from the Bangladesh authorities, following the shooting in Dhaka, and are monitoring the situation closely."

More from Andrew Marszal in Delhi:

There are now reports that up to nine gunmen are involved, and approached the restaurant from the direction of a doctor’s clinic located opposite.

 

From Delhi, Andrew Marszal reports:

Benazir Ahmed, head of Bangladesh’s rapid action battalion who is at the location, told journalists:

"We would like to resolve the situation peacefully. And I urge everyone to remain calm and not to panic.”

"We are requesting the ones who are inside the restaurant to talk to us, relay us your demands”.

The first death has now been confirmed – the officer-in-charge of Banani Police, who is believed to have been shot in the initial exchange of fire.

Diplomatic and residential zones in Gulshan, and nearby Banani and Baridhara have been locked down by police.

A restaurant in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, has been attacked by five gunmen, it is believed.

An unknown number of foreigners are believed to be trapped inside.

Local media reports that the assailants are throwing grenades.