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Commandos storm expat restaurant after terrorists kill 20 in Bangladesh Commandos storm expat restaurant after terrorists kill 20 in Bangladesh
(35 minutes later)
A 13-hour hostage crisis in the heart of Dhaka was brought to an end after commandos stormed a restaurant popular with expatriates that had been seized by Islamist gunmen. A 13-hour hostage crisis in the heart of Dhaka was brought to an end after commandos stormed a restaurant popular with expatriates that had been seized by Islamist gunmen on Friday night.
Many of the 20 people killed by the group of seven militants in the Holey Artisan Bakery were foreigners who had been deliberately singled out and hacked to death with knives. Two policemen also died during the initial stages of the crisis. Many of the 20 people killed by the group of seven militants in the Holey Artisan Bakery were foreigners who were deliberately singled out and hacked to death with knives. Two policemen also died during the initial stages of the assault. Six of the gunmen were killed and a further suspect was arrested and taken into custody. The attack was claimed by Islamic State, which said the cafe was attacked because it was frequented by foreigners. A further 26 people were wounded by the militants’ gunfire.
The attack was claimed by Islamic State, which said the cafe was attacked because it was “frequented by foreigners”. A further 26 people were wounded by militant gunfire. The scale and ambition of the assault marks a troubling new development for a country increasingly racked by murders of liberal bloggers and secularists by violent Islamists. The restaurant opened two years ago in the heavily secured Gulshan diplomatic neighbourhood of the Bangladeshi capital, which is home to several embassies and an international school. With its large garden and Spanish cuisine it is a popular haunt for expats and well-heeled Bangladeshis.
The scale and ambition of the assault marks a troubling new development for a country increasingly racked by murders of liberal bloggers and secularists by violent Islamists. The restaurant opened two years ago in the plush and heavily secured Gulshan diplomatic neighbourhood of the Bangladeshi capital, which is home to several embassies and an international school. With its large garden and Spanish cuisine it is a popular haunt for expats and well-heeled Bangladeshis.
Related: Inside Bangladesh’s killing fields: bloggers and outsiders targeted by fanaticsRelated: Inside Bangladesh’s killing fields: bloggers and outsiders targeted by fanatics
Mohammad Jasimuddin, a kitchen worker who escaped over a barbed wire fence, said he initially thought the attackers were robbers when he heard them storm the building at 9.30pm. “We thought they were dacoits and would leave after looting money and valuables,” he said. “I heard them screaming, ‘Allahu Akbar’ and firing shots.” But rather than leaving, the attackers went to the second floor, from where they fired repeatedly, he said. Mohammad Jasimuddin, a kitchen worker who escaped over a barbed wire fence, said he initially thought the attackers were robbers when he heard them storm the building at 9.30pm. “We thought they would leave after looting money and valuables,” he said. “I heard them screaming, ‘Allahu Akbar’ and firing shots.” But rather than leaving, the attackers went to the second floor, from where they fired repeatedly, he said.
Rezaul Karim, the grandfather of a 13-year-old girl who had been celebrating her birthday with her parents and younger sister, who were all taken hostage, said the gunmen set about killing foreigners. “They did not behave rough with the Bangladesh nationals,” he told The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi paper. “They provided night meals for all Bangladeshis.” Rezaul Karim, the grandfather of a 13-year-old girl celebrating her birthday with her parents and younger sister, who were all taken hostage, said the gunmen set about killing foreigners. “They did not behave rough with the Bangladesh nationals,” he told local reporters. He said the gunmen checked on the hostages’ religion by asking them to recite from the Qu’ran. Those who could recite a verse or two were spared.
He added: “The gunmen were doing a background check on religion by asking everyone to recite from the Qu’ran. Those who could recite a verse or two were spared. The others were tortured.” The death toll included nine Italian nationals and seven Japanese people who were in Bangladesh working on a aid project. One American and a 19-year-old Indian student were also among the dead. Two Bangladeshis were killed.
Among the locals killed was arts aficionado Ishrat Akhond. One of Akhond’s friends, the celebrated musician Maqsoodul Haque, said: “She died yesterday because some of her friends came from abroad and, typical of her, she took them out for dinner.” Among the local people killed was an arts aficionado, Ishrat Akhond. One of her friends, a celebrated musician, Maqsoodul Haque, said: “She died yesterday because some of her friends came from abroad and, typical of her, she took them out for dinner.”
Security forces closed roads up to 10km away from the restaurant and ordered street lights to be turned off while hostage negotiators attempted to bring the siege to an end. Authorities finally launched Operation Thunderbolt to retake the restaurant at 7.40am on Saturday. Security forces closed roads up to six miles away from the restaurant and ordered street lights to be turned off while negotiators attempted to bring the siege to an end. Authorities finally launched an operation to retake the restaurant at 7.40am on Saturday.
Six militants were killed and one jihadi was captured during the operation, while two Sri Lankans and one Japanese citizen were among the 13 hostages rescued. A spokesman for the Japanese government said that seven of its citizens remained unaccounted for. According to Italy’s foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, at least nine Italians were among the dead. Among the dead was the wife of an Italian businessman. She was killed with a machete and later found by her husband after he spent all night hiding behind a tree outside the cafe. He had gone outside to take a telephone call when the gunmen attacked. Italian diplomats said they were trying to confirm the fate of another missing person.
Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, announced two days of national mourning. Speaking on television she hailed the work of the security forces. “We were able to save 13 hostages,” she said. Two Sri Lankans and one Japanese citizen were among the 13 hostages rescued. The cafe’s Argentinian chef, Diego Rossini, described how he escaped the attack by jumping from the second-floor terrace into a neighbouring garden. He said the attackers were “very well prepared with bombs, guns, machine guns. It was horrible. I can’t still believe this happened. They pointed with their guns to me and I could hear shots passing by. I was very, very afraid, like never before in my whole life.”
Vowing to stop violent extremism, she said that pious Muslims should have been praying at the time of the attack, particularly during the fasting period of Ramadan, “a month of self-restraint”. “What sort of Muslims are they that they don’t offer prayers and instead do such a thing?” she asked. In a press conference, Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaque Chowdhury said a huge cache of homemade explosives was recovered from the restaurant as well as a number of AK-22 semi-automatic rifles. The bodies of 20 victims showed they had been “killed brutally with sharp weapons”, he said.
Hasina’s government has cracked down on domestic radical Islamists by making scores of arrests. It 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 destabilise the nation, which both parties deny. Although Isis was quick to publish photos it claimed were of dead hostages taken from inside the restaurant, some analysts questioned whether the group was really responsible.
Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, pleaded with Islamist extremists to stop killing in the name of religion. “Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion,” she said in a televised address to the nation in which she declared two days of mourning. “Please stop tarnishing our noble religion … I implore you to come back to the rightful path and uphold the pride of Islam.”
The prime minister, whose government has been unable to stop a growing wave of attacks on foreigners and religious minorities, praised the work of the security forces but called for a nationwide effort to combat extremism, asking people to set up “anti-terrorism committees” in districts and subdistricts across the mainly Muslim but officially secular country.
Hasina’s government has cracked down on domestic radical Islamists by making scores of arrests. It 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 destabilise the nation, which both parties deny.
About two dozen atheist writers, publishers, members of religious minorities, social activists and foreign aid workers have been killed since 2013. On Friday, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death by at least three assailants in south-west Bangladesh. Another Hindu priest was badly injured in a machete attack in the country’s south-west Satkhira district.About two dozen atheist writers, publishers, members of religious minorities, social activists and foreign aid workers have been killed since 2013. On Friday, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death by at least three assailants in south-west Bangladesh. Another Hindu priest was badly injured in a machete attack in the country’s south-west Satkhira district.
In a press conference, Nayeem Ashfaque Chowdhury, a brigadier general, said a huge cache of homemade explosives was recovered from the restaurant as well as a number of AK-22 semiautomatic rifles. Shehryar Fazli, an analyst from the International Crisis Group, said Bangladesh’s increasingly authoritarian government had weakened security forces and emboldened militant groups.
The bodies of 20 people were recovered, most of whom had been “killed brutally with sharp weapons”, he said. “As political tensions between the government and opposition have become more acute, rule of law and governance have broken down,” he said.
Although Isis was quick to publish photos it claimed were of dead hostages taken from inside the restaurant, some analysts questioned whether the group was really responsible. They say al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent, a relatively new franchise of the terror organisation, is more active inside the Bangladeshi capital.
Shehryar Fazli, an analyst from the International Crisis Group, said the stance of the country’s increasingly authoritarian government had weakened security forces and emboldened militant groups.
“As political tensions between the government and opposition have become more acute, rule of law and governance have broken down,” he said. “With law enforcers busy pursuing opposition leaders and activists, militants have found space to regroup in a climate of impunity, injustice and extreme political polarisation.”
Fazle Arshad Haque, the uncle of a man who had visited the restaurant on Friday night, blamed the country’s dysfunctional politics. The military confirmed that his cousin, a Canadian citizen, was one of the hostages and that he had survived the attack.
“When you push people to a corner they have nothing to lose,” he said. “Bangladesh is not prepared for these sorts of unprecedented events.”