Dhaka: Terrorists,who killed 20 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka, reportedly made three demands — release of an arrested Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader, free passage, and recognition of them as Islamic State. None of the demands was met.
Most of the 20 victims were brutally killed with machetes before commandos entered the building, killing six of the militants and capturing a seventh, after a 12-hour standoff, police said.
Bangladesh Director of Military Operations Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said. “Most of those killed were found with their throats slit.”
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the unprecedented terrorist attack on Bangladeshi soil, with many comparing it to 26/11.
Local media said the terrorists tortured anyone who was unable to recite the Koran. The Bangladeshi captives who were able to do so were provided meals overnight, it said.
The Bangladesh army said most of the slain civilians were either Italian or Japanese and that many had been hacked to death with sharpened weapons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack in a post on Twitter."The attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words. I spoke to (Bangladesh) PM Sheikh Hasina and strongly condemned the despicable attack," he tweeted.
Three students from US universities, including Indian girl Tarushi Jain, were among 20 hostages hacked to death by suspected ISIS militants in a terror attack at a restaurant in Bangladesh capital's high-security diplomatic zone.
All seven militants were local Bangladeshis and five of them were on Police radar.
All gunmen were Bangladeshi. Five of them were listed as militants and law enforcers made several drives to arrest them,” national police chief Shahidul Hoque told reporters in Dhaka late on Saturday.
Experts say, the attack marks a level of scale and sophistication not previously seen in the South Asian country.
