Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury was among those killed, according to officials.
Advertisement
Police in Bangladesh, on Saturday, say they have killed three suspected militants, including one of two alleged masterminds of a major attack on a cafe last month that left 20 people dead. “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”. “He is the Gulshan attack mastermind and the leader of JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, a domestic militant outfit)”, he said.
The militants belonged to the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, police chief Akm Shahidul Hoque said.
Both Isil and a branch of Al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks attributed to JMB, leading to criticism from anti-terror experts that the government is reluctant to admit that global jihadist groups have a presence in the country.
For the last three years, Bangladesh has been reeling from a spate of extremist attacks which have targeted gay rights activists, religious minorities, foreigners and secular writers.
On July 27, at least nine other Islamist militants who were related to the Holey Artisan Bakery attack were killed in Kalyanpur area. The militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners in the attack, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian.
“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.
Police on Aug 2 announced a reward of 2 million taka ($25,000) for information leading to the arrest of Chowdhury, who disappeared after the attack.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: “Tamim Chowdhury’s chapter is closed here”.
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.
The five militants, carrying weapons, including semi-automatic rifles, grenades and machetes, held diners hostage at the upscale eatery in the diplomatic zone.
Advertisement
The Islamic State organisation claimed responsibility+ and the gunmen were pictured posing with IS flags in images posted on a website affiliated to the group.
