Bangladesh attack: ISIS leaks images of terrorists

In the latest agonizing incident, terrorists stormed a café, with gunshots and bombs, in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, wherein 20 people were hacked to death. The people who could recite from the religious book where spared.  

Witnesses said seven Islamist radicals stormed the Holey Artisan bakery and cafe last night armed with assault weapons, pistols and ‘sharp objects’ before taking more than 30 people hostage. The brutal attack killed an Indian, nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and two local men before elite commandos ended the 12-hour standoff by storming the cafe. Six of the hostage-takers were killed and one was arrested. 

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared two days of national mourning after the massacre in the upmarket Gulshan district of the city. Besides, in a statement on television she said, ‘‘it was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people? They don’t have any religion.’’

Moreover, Italy’s footballers are wearing black armbands in memory of the victims when they play Germany tonight in their Euro 2016 quarter final in France. 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the five men and two women who died worked for the country’s foreign aid agency and ‘were giving their all for the development of Bangladesh’. 

To add to the agony, ISIS posted pictures of five of the attackers online along with their names and a statement, ‘Let the people of the crusader countries know that there is no safety for them as long as their aircraft are killing Muslims.’ The statement is believed to be aimed at British and American air strikes in Syria and Iraq, although neither Italy nor Japan are involved in that campaign.

In recent years, Bangladesh has seen an increased amount of Islamist terrorism with attacks on non-Muslims, bloggers, atheists, secular activists and even LGBT campaigners. But this is the first intensive attack on foreigners. 

“Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion,” Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh PM. She also thanked all those who had expressed their solidarity with Bangladesh, and vowed that terrorism would be exterminated at all costs.

Elite Bangladeshi commandos stormed the building after siege of more than 12 hours, freeing some 13 hostages, in addition to another eight who manged to flee during the siege. Six of the terrorists were shot dead and one was arrested at the scene. 

SITE said ISIS’ Amaq News Agency reported ISIS terrorists had carried out the attack. Speaking after the raid, Lieutenant Colonel Tuhin Mohammed Masud, commander of the Rapid Action Battalion said: ‘We have gunned down at least six terrorists and the main building is cleared but the operation is still going on.’

The American victim has been named as Abinta Kabir, from Miami, Florida. Also among the dead were Faraaz Hossain, who attended business school at Emory University in Atlanta, and Tarushi Jain, 19, who studied at University of California’s Berkeley campus.

Abinta Kabir, a sophomore at Emory’s Oxford campus, was an American citizen, while Hossain was born in Bangladesh and Jain was of Indian origin. A spokesman said, “Emory University has learned that two Emory students, Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain, were among those taken hostage and murdered by terrorists yesterday in the attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abinta, who was from Miami, was a rising sophomore at Emory’s Oxford College. ‘Faraaz, who was from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university’s Goizueta Business School.

The ISIS media wing has claimed responsibility for the attack which was launched on the final Friday of Ramadan, as millions of Muslims prepare to celebrate the Eid holiday. The final ten days of Ramadan are the most solemn in the Islamic calendar. Two police officers were killed, including a local police station chief, Mohammed Salahuddin, who was earlier injured in the shoot-out.