Bangladesh restaurant siege ends; 6 gunmen killed

A night long siege ended on Saturday morning when Bangladeshi troops gunned down six armed attackers who held a bakery hostage in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone, in what was probably the biggest assault in the capital city. Thirteen hostages, including three foreigners, were rescued during the operation, a senior security official said.

“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 stormed the cafe, said there had been a number of casualties, including the hostage-takers and two police men, but the main area had been “cleared”.

“Troops are combing buildings near the restaurant as it is believed that three to four attackers were holed up in the area,” Masud told. Several people were detained in the restaurant and checks were being conducted to ascertain if any of them were involved in the attack.

The Islamic state claimed responsibility for the violence through its Amaq news agency through which it posted photos of dead foreigners allegedly killed in



the assault.

The Holy Artisan Bakery Cafe in Dhaka’s Gulshan area, which is popular with locals, diplomats and expatriates alike, was targeted on Friday night at around 9 pm local time. Though it is yet unclear how many attackers were there, it is believed they were around 10 people.

Armed with assault rifles, the group open fired and set off explosive devices during the assault and took an unspecified number of people hostage. Among the rescued hostages were two Sri Lankans and a Japanese national. “The Japanese national was injured,” Masud said.

An Indian national was freed or managed to escape the restaurant before troops launched their final operation, sources told. However, further details about him were not immediately available.

The Indian government said it was closely monitoring the crisis even as officials maintained that all Indian High Commission staffers in Dhaka were reportedly safe.

Gowher Rizvi, an adviser to Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, told Reuters that security forces had tried to negotiate a way out of the crisis, but to no avail.