“They have no connections with the Islamic State”, Asaduzzaman told AFP adding that all the attackers came from wealthy families. Over the a year ago, Islamic State and its rival, al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, claim to have carried out more than two dozen targeted killings in Bangladesh, mostly of foreigners, secular writers and religious minorities.
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“We don’t want terrorism in Bangladesh”, Hasina said.
“The continuous denial of the presence of local militant group connections with global terror groups has not been helpful”, said Ali Riaz, a professor of political science at Illinois State University and an expert on South Asian politics.
The Japanese government is planning to send a plane to Bangladesh on Sunday evening to bring family members of the victims.
Bangladesh Director of Military Operations Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said.
But about 35 were trapped inside, their fate depending on whether they could prove themselves to be Muslims, according to the father of a Bangladeshi businessman who was rescued Saturday morning along with his family. Most previous attacks have involved machete-wielding men singling out individual activists, foreigners and religious minorities. The assault on the restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone by militan. They were three students from American universities who had ties to Bangladesh.
The hostages were given a test: recite verses from the Quran, or be punished, according to a witness. One of Akhond’s friends, the celebrated musician Maqsoodul Haque, said: “She died yesterday because some of her friends came from overseas and, typical of her, she took them out for dinner”.
The killing of foreigners will likely shatter the confidence of the expatriate community in Bangladesh, many of whom work for multinationals in the country’s $26 billion garment industry that accounts for around 15 percent of the economy. “We have recovered huge cache of IED explosives and AK-22 assault rifles”.
It was not clear if the attackers had made any demands during the 12-hour hostage standoff.
Bangladesh has blamed two home-grown groups for a series of grisly killings targeting liberals or members of minority groups over the past 18 months, and local authorities have maintained that no operational links exist between Bangladeshi militants and worldwide jihadi networks. Bangladesh has blamed two home-grown groups for the wave of grisly killings over the past year and a half.
Bangladesh’s home minister said on Sunday that the attackers were not from the so-called Islamic State group, but belonged to a local militant group, which has been banned for more than a decade.
“Pictures (uploaded on Twitter) indicate they might have been encouraged by ISIS (Daesh) activities overseas”, said Muhammad Zamir, a former senior Bangladesh foreign ministry official. “But this does not show a direct link to ISIS. This is exactly what was done and disputed later in the case of the Orlando attack”.
Despite the police saying IS links were being investigated, the home minister refuted the possibility that the Islamic State directed the attack from overseas. Bangladesh Police had tried to arrest these five militants previously, Hoque told CNN. The series of targeted sectarian attacks by the ISIS militants in Bangladesh has underlined how quickly the group’s extremist ideology has gained traction and attracted support within the country.
This is also the deadliest attack by ISIL in India’s immediate neighbourhood.
The Amaq News Agency, which is affiliated with the militant group, on Saturday released photos of the purported assailants, whom it described as Bangladeshis. A blood-smeared man lay in front of the restaurant, shouting “save me, save me”.
The police officers called for backup after they were shot at from inside the restaurant.
“Concerns on visiting our factories, holding meetings, etc, by foreign nationals will be there for a few months but I believe within six months, the intensity will thaw and things will be back to normal”, said Abdullah Hil Rakib, head of exporter Brothers Fashion Ltd.
“We condemn this attack in the strongest terms”.
One Japanese citizen remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The seven Japanese victims are said to have been involved in global development projects. “No one is from a madrassa”, the minister said.
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Even in the past, attacks possibly carried out by local militant organisations such as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) or the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were claimed by ISIL unilaterally.
