Desk Report
20 foreign hostages were hacked to death by Islamic terrorists during a siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1st, 2016. The siege, which began at around 7:00 pm, has been described as the worst hostage crisis the country has seen in the past 40 years. Here are the latest updates on the situation as of July 2nd, 4:19 pm.
4:19 pm: According to sources, one Indian doctor and his wife were also among the hostages. But were released as they spoke in Bengali.
4:15pm: Ministry of External Affairs sources said Tarushi Jain was an 18-year-old student at UC Berkeley who was on vacation in Dhaka. Her father, Sanjeev Jain, runs a garment business in Bangladesh for last 15-20 years. 4:00 pm: An Indian girl, named Tarushi, was one among the 20 victims killed in the Dhaka cafe hostage.
3:13 pm: The 20 hostages were killed right before Bangladesh commandos ended the siege. (Reuters India)
3:11 pm: Hostage situation described as Bangladesh’s worst hostage crisis in 40 years. (ABP Live)
2:41 pm: All 20 hostages killed in #DhakaAttack were foreigners, says Bangladesh army (Times Now)
2:37 pm: Seven Japanese citizens are accounted for in the attack. (NY times)
2:36 pm: Islamic state bomb supply chain includes 7 Indian firms. (The Times Of India)
2:08 pm: Military spokesperson Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury says the hostages were “brutally hacked to death” during the 10 hour siege. (Aljazeera)
2:02 pm: Bodies have been kept at CMH. People have been requested to contact Provost Marshall at 01769012524 to confirm identities. (Dhaka Tribune)
12:30 pm: PM confirms that 13 hostages have been rescued but death casualties are still unspecified. (Aljazeera)
12:00 pm: No place for terrorism on Bangladesh’s soil, says PM. (Hindustan times)
11:35am- Four men, believed to be employees of the restaurant, were led away by DB police in handcuffs in two ambulances. (Dhaka Tribune)
10:51 am: A Sri Lankan couple is among the 18 hostages who were rescued from the restaurant. (Dhaka Tribune)
10:40 am: Officials say that siege has ended. (Aljazeera)
9:00 am: It takes the joint commando forces 45 minutes to take control of the situation.(Dhaka Tribune)
8:02 am: Joint 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. (Prothom Alo)
7:42 am: Bangladesh police plan on making a move to end crisis, Indian nationals confirmed among hostages. (The Times of India)
5:00 am: BNP denounces terrorist attack. In a statement, the party says: “BNP has been long saying that the country has been going through a serious crisis. This evening’s incident is an outcome of the crisis.” The party hopes that the government turns out to be successful in their efforts to rescue the hostages trapped in the restaurant. It also urged the government to increase the security of the people living in the Gulshan area, including that of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. (CNN)
4:10 am: Seven Italians are confirmed to be among hostages, claims Mario Palma, the Italian ambassador to Bangladesh. (Dhaka Tribune)
4:00 am: The wounded young man is taken to United hospital for treatment. He is then confirmed as a suspect. (Dhaka Tribune)
3:58 am: A young man is carried out of the building by RAB members. He appeared to have sustained serious injuries. His identity wasn’t confirmed yet. (Dhaka Tribune)
2:34 am: Some police officers are being held at gunpoint while trying to negotiate with the attackers. (Aljazeera)
2:08 am: Japan says that there may have been Japanese citizens among the hostages. In an emergency press conference in Tokyo, government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga claims that the government is trying to confirm information. (The Telegraph)
1:32 am: Terrorists turned off the lights in the place where they were holding the hostages. (The Times of India)
12:35 am: Bangladeshi home minister holds emergency meeting. (The Times of India)
12:14 am (02/07/2016): The Bangladesh Police force breaks into restaurant and prepares to launch operation at dawn. (The Telegraph)
11:50 pm: A Bangladeshi security officer requests television channels to stop the live coverage of the situation. (The Hindu)
11:49 pm: A wounded suspect is held by law enforcers and taken to the hospital (The Daily Star)
11:00 pm: The UK also issued security alerts for their citizens staying around the Gulshan area. (BDChronicle)
10:34 pm: U.S. state department spokesperson Kirby briefed the situation in Dhaka. Kirby described the situation as “very fluid, very live”.
“We are working with the local authorities to determine whether any U.S. citizens and locally employed staff were affected,” says Kirby. (The Hindu)
10:30 pm: Two police officers were confirmed dead and over 50 wounded. (Prothom Alo)
9:15 pm: An assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) says that gunshots were heard in the restaurant after the police rushed in to save hostages. (BDChronicle)
7:10 pm: Death of the Officer-in-charge of Banani police confirmed. The police initiated lockdown procedure in diplomatic and residential areas of Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara. RAB head Benazir Ahmed tells journalists that they are attempting to resolve the situation peacefully. (Telegraph)

7:03 pm: Terrorists took over Holey Artisan Bakery located in Gulshan 2, Dhaka. Number of hostages trapped still unknown. Eyewitnesses say that the terrorists were throwing grenades. (Telegraph)

Written By: Nobonita Chowdhury