Bangladesh police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising that attack. A British citizen and a Canadian resident, both of Bangladeshi origin and who were inside the café as the attack unfolded, are being held over allegations that they behaved suspiciously and may have abetted the hostage-takers – a charge that their families and lawyers have denied.
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“We’re hopeful we can now capture and eliminate other extremists, including Zia”, said assistant inspector-general of police Mohammad Moniruzzaman. Four people died in that attack, including two police officers.
Kerry is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 29 to meet with government officials to discuss US-Bangladesh cooperation, development, security and human rights.
Chowdhury is also suspected to be behind a July 7 attack on an Id gathering outside Dhaka marking the end of Ramzan, he said.
“The operation went on for an hour. Among those three was a person whose face looked similar to a photo of Tamin Chowdhury and I can now confirm Chowdhury was among the dead”.
“They were asked to surrender, but they refused”.
The militants belonged to the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, Bangladesh’s police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque told reporters.
Sources said subsequent investigations by Bangladeshi agencies had revealed that Chowdhury, 30, had helped the attackers with safe houses and arms and ammunition.
Some analysts believe Chowdhury acted as a coordinator for the Islamic State militant group in Bangladesh and northeastern India. “We have yet to identify the two others, but we think [they were] his close aides”, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters while visiting the scene.
Tamim’s name came up on the list of 10 missing people released by police after it emerged that the cafe killers and Sholakia attackers had been reported missing by their families.
Police say Chowdhury is one of two masterminds of the attack on a popular restaurant in Dhaka on July 1 that that killed 20 people, including 17 foreigners.
Global Affairs Canada has said Canadian officials are monitoring Khan’s situation.
“The gunfight erupted this morning after police started raiding a building at Naraynganj’s Pikeparha”, Counter-terrorism Unit’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain was quoted as saying by the bdnews24.Com.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, authorities confirmed the deaths of Chowdhury and two other suspected militants after police cordoned off the building in the capital city of Dhaka and exchanged gunfire.
He used to frequent their flat in Kalyanpur and have meetings with them, give motivational speeches and guide them on planning militant attacks, according to the statement of a case filed following the police operation named “Storm 26”, the Daily Star said.
Bangladesh has seen a recent wave of attacks targeting individuals, particularly secular writers and religious minorities.
Both IS and a branch of Al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks.
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Since 2013, authorities say, more than 50 terrorist attacks have been carried out by extremists in Bangladesh, the Muslim-majority nation of 160 million.
