Gunmen attack restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarters, customers, including foreigners taken hostage

Several foreigners are said to be among a number
of hostages taken by gunmen who attacked a restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of the Bangladesh’s
capital, Dhaka today. Eight or nine attackers were said to have stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery,
located in the city’s diplomatic quarter. 

 

One kitchen staffer said that
the gunmen were armed with
firearms and bombs, entering the bakery at around 9:20pm local time and
taking customers and staff hostage at gunpoint. 

Bangladesh’s
police chief has confirmed that several foreigners are among the
hostages. One policeman is reported to have been killed and others
wounded by gunfire as officers surrounded the restaurant, located in
the Gulshan area of the capital, and a massive firefight erupted.

Police spokesman said: “Our first priority is to save the lives of the people trapped inside.”

The police chief has said that they plan to start a rescue operation shortly.

Bangladesh’s Daily Star is reporting that heavily armed police in armoured vehicles are preparing to enter the restaurant.

Lori Ann Walsh Imdad, who lives nearby, is reported to have
said: “Terrorists broke in and shot the Italian baker and his wife and
took about 20 foreigners hostage.”

The US State Department has said the hostage situation is
“still fluid”, and the US embassy in Dhaka has urged citizens to shelter
in place. A spokesman for the US State Department said it was too
early to say who was involved in the hostage situation, but that all
Americans working at the US mission in Dhaka had been accounted for.

One Bangladeshi TV station has reported that the gunmen chanted “Allahu Akbar” as they launched their assault.