20 hostages, 6 terrorists killed Hopes fast fading away : A mother breaks down in tears as she finds no trace of her daughter who was among the hostages taken by the militants at Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan in the capital on Friday night. -Reaz Ahmed Sumon

9 Italians, 7 Japanese, 1 Indian and 3 Bangladeshis among dead

The dramatic overnight siege in Dhaka’s diplomatic enclave ended in a bloodbath on Saturday morning, with the gunmen killing 20 hostages and two police officials before troops barged into the café to end the standoff.

As the hostage crisis unfolded, six marauding gunmen were killed during a pre-dawn military raid codenamed ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ to rescue the captives.

According to reports, nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian and three Bangladeshis fell victim to the attackers at the Spanish restaurant, Holey Artisan Bakery.

Meanwhile, thirteen people, including a Japanese and two Sri Lankans, were rescued alive along with Bangladeshis from the worst bedlam the country has been through in recent years.

Sources said six more Japanese nationals have been reported missing from the savage attack.

The eatery, the scene of Friday night’s gory incident, is frequented by foreign diplomats and businessmen.

A group of rabid right-wing terrorists stormed the café at 8:45pm on Friday, took the guests hostages and launched an unprecedented terror strike at the heart of upscale Gulshan neighbourhood.

Police moved in soon after the hostage situation developed leading to an exchange of fire between lawmen and captors.Two police officers died in a bomb explosion at that time. They were assistant commissioner Rabiul Islam and officers-in-charge Salauddin Ahmed of Banani police station.

The gunmen slaughtered the hostages much before the commando operation Thunderbolt was launched, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

“We’ve found 20 bodies and all of them were massacred with sharp weapons at night,” Brig Gen Mohammad Nayeem Ashfaque Chowdhury, director, military operations directorate, told a media briefing on Saturday noon.

At press conference convened at army headquarters, he said a Japanese and two Sri Lankans were among those rescued from the café and that commandos took less than one hour to accomplish their mission.

“There were seven attackers, one of whom was captured alive, and the rest killed during the assault,” said Brig Gen Ashfaque, adding: “The commando operation started operation at 7:40am, which successfully ended at 8:30am.”

He did not disclose the identities of the foreigners but said: “Autopsies of the bodies will be conducted at the Combined Military Hospital.”

Members of other law-enforcement agencies, including BGB, police and RAB, also joined the allied security force to clear the cafe on Saturday morning after the 12-hour siege that left the whole nation stunned.

The commando team also seized four pistols, an AK-22, four IID, a walkie-talkie and locally made weapons from the spot.

Witnesses said seven to eight militants, one armed with a sword and others carrying ‘small firearms with big magazines’, swooped on the café’s patrons.

The fanatics shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great) while entering the eatery and started firing in the air with around 20 guests still inside, according to the restaurant’s supervisor Sumon Reza who managed to flee soon after the attack.

Another hostage, freed after the salvage operation, said the armed attackers killed some foreigners soon after they had stormed it.

Hasnat Karim was one of those held hostage at Holey Artisan Bakery and O’Kitchen on Road No. 79 near Gulshan-2. He went there with his wife Sharmin Parvin and two children.

After being under siege for almost 12 hours, they were rescued around 8:00am, said Karim’s relatives who waited outside the restaurant for the whole night.

They said that the attackers, after entering the restaurant, asked Bangladeshi Muslims to recite from the Quran. “Those who did were given dinners. The gunmen treated Parvin (Karim’s wife) well as she was wearing a hijab.”

An engineer by profession, Hasnat returned to Bangladesh over a year ago after spending 20 years abroad.

NATIONAL MOURNING

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared a two-day state mourning for the loss of lives in the outrage of Islamist extremists as the entire nation is caught in a state of shock and awe.

The grieving countrymen will observe Sunday and Monday to mourn for all those local and foreign nationals killed in the savagery.

IS CLAIMS CREDIT

Meanwhile, the US-based SITE Intelligence, a jihadist monitoring group, reported that the Middle East-based Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday’s hostage drama in Dhaka.