Desk Report
The overnight hostage crisis at a café in Dhaka ended after around 13 hours on Saturday morning after an operation by Joint forces of Police, RAB, Border Guards and Armed Force commandos. 13 hostages were rescued including 3 foreign nationals.
The crisis begins around 8:45pm on Friday at the Holey Artisan Bakery and O Kitchen of Road No. 79 near Gulshan-2. 8 to 10 men, armed with firearms and bombs, raided the cafe which is popular with foreigners. The Terrorist took hostage of the guests and the staffs of the restaurants. A hostage, freed after an overnight blockade at a café in Dhaka said that the gunmen killed some of the foreigners soon after they barged in it on Friday night. The restaurant supervisor Sumon Reza, who was also lucky enough to flee from the restaurant before the terrorists held hostages, said to the media that the terrorists attacked at around 8.45 pm screaming “Allah Hu Akbar”, firing bullets from automatic guns and throwing bombs. But none of them had a beard or wore the traditional religious outfit. Different sources reported that the terrorists dropped a heavy bomb on the police as they were working on their strategy near the restaurant. By that bomb, police constable Alamgir and Pradip were seriously injured. Police immediately locked down the area, restricted traffic. Heavily injured police constable Alamgir and Prodip were taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Banani Thana Officer-in-Charge Salahuddin was taken to United Hospital and immediately was admitted to the ICU. Later he died at on the night. In this regard, RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed said to the media, “We are trying to solve the matter peacefully. We are also ready to communicate with the assailants inside, and know their demands.” He also requested the media not to telecast the operation live as it is a matter of national security. The number of people who sustained injuries are still on the rise, but it was confirmed that at least 24 police members were injured. Road blocks were placed around Gulshan and Baridhara area. Amaq News Agency, the Salafist militant group-run news agency, has claimed that Islamic State has confirmed responsibility for the attack. 24 killed and 40 sustained injuries claimed ISIS. Rita Katz, co-founder of the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group has also confirmed that. Ansar_Islam_BD on twitter has stated, “It will be first in #Bangladesh to attack in diplomatic zone, taking hostage and largest operation against the crusaders and its allies.” Police and RAB cleared the area near to the restaurant. The Medias were not allowed to telecast the joint forces activities LIVE. The process of negotiation with the terrorists failed. Diego, an Argentinian chef of the restaurant, and Belarus, an in-house electrician of the restaurant, have been rescued from adjacent building by SWAT at 2.55 AM, police sources said.
A young man was carried out of the building at 3.58 AM by RAB members. He appeared to have sustained serious injuries. His identity wasn’t confirmed yet. Army, navy and Paramilitary Border Guard joined police and RAB at the scene early morning Saturday.Armored vehicles were seen on the spot. Commando forces of Bangladesh Army, police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh, navy commandos and special force SWAT barge into the restaurant to end crisis at around 7.30 AM in the morning. The operation was dubbed Operation Thunderbolt it took around 45 minutes for the joint commando forces to take control of the situation. The DB police led four persons in handcuff, who were believed to be restaurant employees. The Spokesperson of Bangladesh Army, Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury, told to the media, the commandos took less than 15 minutes to complete the operation. There were seven attackers, one of whom was captured alive, and the rest killed during the assault, he added. The gunmen had AK22 folded butt. The bodies of 20 foreigners were found after a search was conducted. “All of them were murdered in the night brutally by sharp weapons,” said Chowdhury, the military operations chief of the army. The bodies of the victims have been kept at the CMH morgue for autopsy; to confirm the identities of the victims, people have been requested to contact Provost Marshal at 01769-012524, said Brig General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury. PM Sheikh Hasina, while speaking in a programme about the Dhaka restaurant attack yesterday, called for the people to stand against any form of militancy to protect the sovereignty of bangladesh. 13 hostages were rescued from the besieged café but some had been killed and some of the injured have been admitted to CMH, she added.
Written By: A. K. Wahasuddin Ahmed