POLICE STORM RESTAURANT TO END HOSTAGE STANDOFF

DHAKA Heavy gunfire and explosions rang out Saturday morning as Bangladesh security forces backed by armoured vehicles moved to end a 10-hour standoff with heavily armed militants holding dozens of people hostage, including foreigners. Police have rescued some people, Jasim Uddin, a police deputy commissioner, told CNN. He did not say how many. The militants, reported to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, stormed the upscale restaurant at the heart of Bangladesh’s diplomatic zone Friday night. Two police officers were killed and at least 26 people wounded in an earlier gun battle, according to officials, but ISIL claimed there were 24 dead. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery.