Nine Italians and a US citizen killed in Isil restaurant attack
Terrorists murder 20 hostages after forcing them to recite Koran while security forces laid siege
NINE Italians and a US citizen were among 20 people hacked to death when a group of Isil terrorists burst into a restaurant popular with foreigners in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.
Seven attackers armed with blades, guns and bombs also murdered seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis and one Indian citizen before army commandos stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery and brought an end to the slaughter.
Survivors of the attack said the killers made their hostages recite verses from the Koran to identify who was Muslim and who was not. Those who could recite sections of the Islamic holy book were spared, those unable to were killed.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had deliberately targeted the citizens of “Crusader countries”. It was not clear if the plot was organised by the group’s leadership in Syria or developed locally in Bangladesh.
Pope Francis condemned the “senseless” violence in Dhaka while Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, said his people were “united in tears” for their nine murdered countrymen.
The attack marks a major escalation in a campaign by militants in Bangladesh, where at least six secular activists have been hacked to death with machetes since the beginning of 2015. The most recent killing took place in broad daylight in April.
Thirteen hostages were rescued when Bangladeshi troops stormed the cafe on Saturday morning but two police officers were killed during the siege. Six of the attackers were killed in the fighting and one was taken alive.
The chaos began at about 8.30pm on Friday, just as Abinta Kabir, a US citizen from Miami in Florida, Faraaz Hossain and Tarishi Jain – three young students who had returned to Bangladesh from studies in the US – were sitting down for dinner.
Having finished their first years at UC Berkeley and Emory University in the US, the teenagers joined other clientele at the chic eatery popular with foreigners and the Bangladeshi elite. Seven men chanted “Allahu Akbar” as they emerged from the shadows of a doctor’s clinic just across the narrow alleyway and stormed the cafe, spraying bullets wildly.
Rubha Ahmed, Abinta’s mother, was among the first on the outside to learn of the attack, alerting police after receiving a panicked message from her daughter.
Shortly after 10pm, the police arrived and a battle ensued. By the time the smoke had cleared, with the attackers still entrenched, two policemen had been fatally wounded.
Inside, the captors divided up the hostages. “The foreigners were taken to the upper floor and the Bangladeshis were kept around a table,” said Rezaul Karim, the father of one of those who escaped.
“They made people stand in a line. There must be about 20 to 25 staff and about 20 to 25 guests and then they switched off the lights and CCTV,” said another.
Their purpose soon became clear. Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper reported that anyone unable to recite the Koran was tortured, while meals were provided overnight only for the Bangladeshi captives.
As negotiators tried in vain to reach the terrorists, Rubha had to be physically restrained by police to prevent her running into the siege.
“Tell me where is my daughter?” she demanded.
It is unclear when the massacre began but, by 7am, Isil had posted three grotesque images of at least six bodies strewn over the cafe’s white-washed floor. Rubha’s daughter Abinta and her friends were killed.
Bangladeshi forces launched Operation Thunderbolt shortly before 8am, opening fire with snipers as commandos burst into the building.
Among the other victims was Cristian Rossi, a 47-year-old Italian consultant and the father of three-year-old twins. Several of his colleagues were also killed. “All of Italy is united in crying for our countrymen killed in Dhaka,” said Mr Renzi. “Our values are stronger than hatred and terror.”
“It’s just a terrible situation. We just don’t expect this to happen in the world, let alone in this country,” said SK Imran, a police officer who spent the day manning the barricades outside the tragic scene.
“Even though we killed all the terrorists, we couldn’t save their lives. We couldn’t protect the guests of our country.” Additional reporting by Josephine McKenna in Rome