Khan said six assailants who were killed during the attack all were under the age of 22, and that they were tied to a group categorized as illegal under local law for years.
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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 global jihadi networks. Asked why they would have become Islamist militants, Khan said: “It has become a fashion”.
“You see this IS is a slogan”.
In reply, Hasina thanked both the U.S. president and the secretary of state and said the United States could help Bangladesh by providing investigative information.
The country’s Deputy Inspector General of Police Shahidur Rahman said numerous assailants attended private schools and were well-educated.
Mr Khan said all of the attackers were well-educated and most came from wealthy families.
Police said the assailants exchanged sporadic gunfire with police outside for several hours after the gunmen attacked the restaurant around 9 p.m. on Friday.
The restaurant assault also comes after Bangladesh hanged an Islamist party leader, Motiur Rahman Nizami, on May 11 for genocide and other crimes committed during a 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. 20 hostages who died included one Indian, Tarishi Jain who was shot by the attackers.
Previous attacks have mostly singled out individuals advocating a secular or liberal lifestyle or religious minorities.
Seven gunmen armed with blades, guns and bombs killed the victims soon after they stormed the restaurant.
At least two European retailers which source clothes from Bangladesh, Sweden’s H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Britain’s Marks and Spencer Group PLC, said their operations in the country are not immediately affected.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said her government will find out “roots” of the gunmen, who attacked the restaurant.
The American citizen killed in the attacks was Abinta Kabir of Miami, Florida, who attended Emory University in Atlanta.
The militants hacked most of their victims with machetes, leaving their bodies to bleed over the floor. He would be among those found dead on Saturday morning. They recovered explosives and sharp weapons from the scene.
It was not clear if the attackers had made any demands.
A government minister insisted that the killers were members of a home-grown militant outfit and had no links to worldwide terrorist networks. Bangladesh has blamed JMB and another home-grown outfit for the wave of grisly killings over the past year and a half.
The government has denied Daesh’s claim of responsibility for the attack that left 28 dead, including six attackers and 20 of the hostages.
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All are from Bangladesh, officials said, and none worked with ISIS.
