Forces storm bakery, find 5 bodies

The Islamic State group claims responsibility

Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh forces stormed a restaurant where heavily armed militants held dozens of people hostage for 10 hours, triggering explosions and finding at least five bodies lying in pools of blood. Japan’s government said that 12 people were rescued.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan area, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadis activity online.

At least 35 people, including about 20 foreigners, were trapped inside the restaurant, said kitchen staffer Sumon Reza, who was among more than 10 people who managed to run to the rooftop and escape when the militants moved in Friday night.

With the sound of gunfire and explosions, local TV stations reported that the rescue operation began at 7:40 a.m. It included army personnel with automatic weapons and at least seven armored vehicles. Several ambulances were on standby.

Local media reported that an Argentine and two Bangladeshis were rescued from the restaurant, but details about their condition were not immediately available.

Commandos storming the restaurant discovered five bodies lying in blood, a police official who was not identified told Channel 24 TV station.

In Tokyo, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said that 12 people were rescued in the raid, including two foreigners, but he couldn’t say if they were Japanese. His information was based on Dhaka police.

A news agency affiliated with the Islamic Group claimed that 24 people had been killed and 40 wounded, including foreigners, according to SITE. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

The Amaq news agency also posted photos purportedly showing the bodies of hostages. The authenticity of the pictures could not be confirmed either.

The attack marks an escalation in the growing drumbeat of militant violence to hit the traditionally moderate Muslim-majority nation in the past three years, but with increasing frequency in recent months. Most attacks have been by machete-wielding men singling out individual activists, foreigners and religious minorities.

Bangladesh did not immediately respond to the claim of responsibility by IS, but in the past have denied that the extremist group has a presence in the country. The U.S. State Department said it had seen the IS claim, but could not confirm its authenticity.

The attackers “have not responded to authorities’ calls for negotiation,” said a member of the elite anti-crime force, Rapid Action Battalion, identifying himself as Lt. Col. Masood, during an interview with the Indian TV channel Times Now.

He said that the security cordon would prevent any of the attackers from escaping. Authorities also ordered internet services to be blocked across the country, according to internet service provider Aamra.

Police said the two officers died at a hospital after being wounded in the initial gunfire with as many as nine attackers, who also hurled bombs. Ten of the 26 wounded were listed in critical condition, six of whom were on life support, according to hospital staff, who said the injuries ranged from broken bones to gunshot wounds. Only one civilian was among the wounded.

Reza said the attackers chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) as they launched the attack around 9:20 p.m. Friday, initially opening fire with blanks. A huge contingent of security forces cordoned off the area around the bakery.

The nationalities of the hostages were not immediately clear. Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said at a hastily called news conference in Tokyo that the government is trying to confirm that Japanese were among the hostages. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that saving lives is the top priority.

“Some derailed youths have entered the restaurant and launched the attack,” Benazir Ahmed said. “We have talked to some of the people who fled the restaurant after the attack. We want to resolve this peacefully. We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want.”

“Our first priority is to save the lives of the people trapped inside,” Ahmed said. He would not say how many people were being held hostage.

In Washington, a White House official said President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by his chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco.

The president asked to be kept informed as the situation develops, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the president’s meetings.