A 10-hour siege at an upscale eatery in Dhaka on Saturday came to an end as Bangladeshi police killed all six of the hostage-takers pledging allegiance to the Islamic State.
"The operation is over. The situation is completely under control," army spokesman Col. Rashidul Hasan said.
Two policemen are reported to have been killed in the attack.
About 35 people, mostly foreigners, had been held captive by the heavily armed gunmen who had attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan diplomatic area of Dhaka on Friday night.
"We were able to rescue 13 people alive, and could not save a few lives," said PM Sheikh Hasina.
Latest reports suggest that at least 20 hostages, all of them foreigners with most being either Japanese or Italian, have been killed in the attack. Director of Military Operations Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said that the hostages were brutally slaughtered with sharp weapons.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has tweeted that an Indian girl named Tarushi is among the casualties in the attack.
A Japanese government spokesperson said that one Japanese citizen was being treated for gunshot wounds while seven remain untraced.
The ‘Islamic State’ militant group claimed that 24 people had died. However, Bangladesh police refuted those claims and said that two policemen had died and at least 20 were injured.
Also read: