On Friday night, an 11-hour siege at the Holey Artisan bakery in Dhaka left 20 people dead. The attack took place in the sensitive Gulshan neighbourhood. This is where all the important diplomatic establishments in the country have their base and thus is also home to large number of foreigners. The Quint tries to understand the what, where and why of Friday’s chilling attack.
What Exactly Happened?
A group of approximately six to nine armed gunmen entered the Holey Artisan bakery in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka at around 9:15 pm on Friday night and took around 40 diners at the cafe hostage. They set off a series of explosives in the cafe shouting slogans praising Allah.
Within hours of gunshots being heard, hundreds of police personnel gathered outside the cafe. But the cafe wall acted as a barrier and any bid by the police to scale the compound walls was foiled by grenades hurled by the attackers from inside.
Subsequently, a massive firefight broke out between the police and the terrorists. Two police personnel were reportedly killed in that initial attack, reported NDTV. After almost 10 hours of fighting, armed commandos stormed in on early Saturday morning and rescued several hostages.
Why Holey Artisan Bakery?
The Holey Artisan bakery is a western-style popular cafe in the posh diplomatic area of Dhaka. The area is known for its upmarket malls and restaurants. The Gulshan neighbourhood is home to several foreign Missions in Bangladesh.
Security experts believe the gunmen wanted to attack ‘foreigners’ in Bangladesh and send out a message against the expatriates living there. According to a report in The New York Times, the people in the restaurant were being ‘sorted’, the gunmen told the cook and other kitchen staff not to worry because they wouldn’t hurt the Bengalis, but were only out to kill foreigners.
While there are sketchy details emerging about the hostages, the authorities have confirmed that 9 Italians, 7 Japanese, 2 Bangladeshis, 1 American and 1 Indian national were among the 20 people killed in the ghastly attack.
‘Attackers Eager To Post Pictures Of The Dead Online’
Reports suggest that the attackers used hostages’ mobile phones to click pictures of the dead bodies and post them on social media. After killing the foreigners, they asked the local staff of the cafe to turn on the wireless network to access the internet.
The Guardian reported that that the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The report also said they posted photos of foreigners killed in the attack online via Amaq, its propaganda agency.
However, a certain section of the Bangladeshi administration insists that the attackers were not from the ISIS, but an affiliate of another homegrown militant agency. They claim that outfits like the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen (JuM) and Ansar-ul-Islam are bigger threats to Bangaldesh than ISIS.
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