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Eyewitnesses recall the siege of Gulshan Cafe
Desk Report
The 12-hour-long hostage crisis at the restaurant popular with foreigners in Gulshan ended around 8:30am on Saturday after an hour long assault by armed forces’ commandos. Several eyewitnesses who were around when the assassination took place spoke out to several news sources.
Sumon Reza, an employee of the restaurant:
Sumon who witnessed the attack and escaped afterwards told Bangladeshi media as well as CNN that the assailants had taken hostages and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before detonating explosive devices. He told the Daily Star website: “They blasted several crude bombs causing wide-scale panic among everyone. I managed to flee during this confusion,” he said. “They came armed with pistols, swords and bombs.” Reza said about 6-8 gunmen attacked the restaurant with about 35 people inside at the time.
Ataur Rahman
Ataur Rahman who was working in his office about 200 meters from the restaurant said that when he heard a series of gunshots he went to the streets thinking that it might be an attack somewhere nearby by local thugs. He told the CNN news that people were racing for cover saying gunmen were shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
Lori Ann Walsh Imdad, Principal of American Standard School
Lori Ann, an American teacher who lives just a block away from the restaurant said she heard a burst of gunfire first and afterwards it was sporadic.
Farzana Azim
Farzana said she heard explosions outside her home. “We heard the first bomb blast at 8.30 in the evenin g, minutes later another blast echoed through the neighborhood of Gulshan. Within half an hour, the gunshots started, she said. I never thought something like this could happen. It is next to a small hospital. This is family-friendly restaurant. Everyone loves to go there“.
Fayad Munaim
Before the siege ended, witness Fayad Munaim said he heard heavy gunfire after hours of quiet in the area. The shots lasted about 10 minutes then stopped, he said.
Written By: Maisha Mahbub