Hostage situation as ISIS gunmen attack restaurant in Bangladeshi capital’s embassy district

Rapid Action Battalion members walk as police stormed the Holey Artisan restaurant after gunmen attacked it and took hostages early on Saturday in Dhaka, Bangladesh in this still frame taken from live video July 2, 2016. © / Reuters

Armed men have attacked a restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter, taking up to 40 hostages and killing at least 2 police officers. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A Bangladesh army spokesman said that all 20 victims of the attack were foreigners, the majority of which were Italian and Japanese, Reuters reported.
07:45 GMT

A Bangladesh army spokesperson has said one Japanese citizen and two Sri Lankans were among the 13 people rescued from the Dhaka cafe siege. Addressing the media after the operation, he reported that a total of 26 people had been killed.

Most of the victims were killed on Friday night “with sharp weapons,” Reuters quotes the spokesman as saying.
06:36 GMT

There were no Russian citizens among the hostages in the besieged Dhaka café, the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh has stated.
06:34 GMT

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said in a TV broadcast that 13 hostages were rescued from the café, but some were killed. He also confirmed that six attackers were killed and one was captured alive by security forces.
05:56 GMT

Dhaka café has been cleared and security forces are searching the area, Lieutenant Colonel Masood of the Rapid Action Battalion told India’s Times Now broadcaster.

“We have gunned down six. We are searching the area around,” Masood said.
05:40 GMT

The Japanese government has confirmed that one of their citizens has been rescued from the besieged Dhaka restaurant. Seven more were inside, but officials have not been able to contact them so far, Reuters reports.
05:06 GMT

Bangladesh police said six gunmen were killed in a rescue operation that cleared the main building, Reuters reported. Thirteen hostages, including three foreigners, were freed from the cafe, according to AP.
04:14 GMT

Two massive blasts were heard in the Dhaka restaurant, according to police. It is unclear what caused the explosions.
02:57 GMT

According to local TV, at least 10 people have been rescued from the cafe, including two foreigners, Reuters reports. This information could not be immediately confirmed.
02:36 GMT

At least one injured person, possibly a foreigner, has been freed from the cafe, according to reports.

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