Three American students among 20 people hacked to death in Bangladesh by ISIS terrorists - who only spared those who could recite the Koran - before armored troops moved in
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Abinta Kabir, a student at Emory University who was originally from Miami, Florida, named among those killed
- Fellow Emory student Faraaz Hossain, who was born in Bangladesh, also identified among 20 victims of attack
- UC Berkeley student Tarushi Jain, 19, an Indian national, was also confirmed dead by India's foreign office
- Three were stabbed to death after seven ISIS terrorists stormed cafe in Dhaka armed with guns and knives
- Islamist radicals slaughtered 20 people after the failed to recite the Koran before taking another 13 hostage
- Gunmen then held security services in 12-hour standoff before elite troops moved in and shot them dead
By
Chris Pleasance and
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com and
Imogen Calderwood For Mailonline
Published: 14:44 GMT, 2 July 2016 | Updated: 16:02 GMT, 2 July 2016
At least three American students have been identified among 20 people killed during an ISIS attack on a cafe in Bangladesh yesterday.
Abinta Kabir, a student at Emory University who was from Miami, Florida, died when terrorists attacked the largely foreign crowd inside the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka last night.
Fellow Emory student Faraaz Hossain, who attended the college's business school, was also identified as being among the dead by a spokesman today. Tarushi Jain, 19, who studied at University of California Berkeley campus, was also killed.
Kabir, a sophomore at Emory's Oxford campus, was an American citizen, while Hossain was born in Bangladesh and Jain was of Indian origin.
A spokesman said: 'Emory University has learned that two Emory students, Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain, were among those taken hostage and murdered by terrorists yesterday in the attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
'Abinta, who was from Miami, was a rising sophomore at Emory’s Oxford College.
'Faraaz, who was from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university’s Goizueta Business School.
'The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family.
'Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time.'
According to witnesses a group of seven Islamist radicals stormed the cafe yesterday evening armed with assault weapons, pistols and 'sharp objects' before taking more than 30 people hostage.
The terrorists then hacked 20 people to death, sparing only those who could recite the Koran, before engaging police in a 12-hour standoff.
The cafe was eventually stormed by elite Bangladeshi commandos who killed the attackers and freed the remaining hostages.
Among those killed are nine Italians, as well as tourists from Japan, South Korea, and India.
The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the dead as: Adele Puglisi, Marco Tondat, Claudia Maria D'Antona, Nadia Benedetti, Vincenzo D'Allestro, Maria Rivoli, Cristian Rossi, Claudio Cappelli, and Simona Monti.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed declared two days of mourning for the victims to take place on Sunday and Monday.
She also thanked all those who had expressed their solidarity with Bangladesh, and vowed that terrorism would be exterminated at all costs.
She added: 'Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such act. They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism.'
Army Brigadier General Naim Asraf Chowdhury said: 'Most of (the hostages) were killed mercilessly by sharp weapons last night.'
On Friday night, Hasnat Karim had brought his family to celebrate his daughter's birthday.
Hasnat was too traumatised to say more than a few words about his ordeal, saying only that the hostage-takers 'did not misbehave with us'.
But he detailed to his father Rezaul how the gunmen - who were armed with automatic weapons, bombs and makeshift machetes - had split the diners into two groups.
Rezaul said: '(The foreigners) were taken to the upper floor and the Bangladeshis were kept around a table.'
He said his son told him the terrorists 'did not hit people who could recite verses from the Koran. The others were tortured'.
He added: 'The gunmen asked everyone inside to recite from the Koran. Those who recited were spared. The gunmen even gave them meals last night.'
Elite Bangladeshi commandos stormed the building after siege of more than 12 hours, freeing some 13 hostages, in addition to another eight who manged to flee during the siege. Six of the terrorists were shot dead and one was arrested at the scene.
The ISIS media wing has claimed responsibility for the attack which was launched on the final Friday of Ramadan, as millions of Muslims prepare to celebrate the Eid holiday. The final ten days of Ramadan are the most solemn in the Islamic calendar.
Two police officers were killed, including a local police station chief, Mohammed Salahuddin, who was earlier injured in the shoot-out.
According to a local photojournalist, Mr Salahuddin was asked by his colleagues not to cross the cordon as he was not wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Just moments after he crossed the line, according to the Daily Star in Dhaka, he was shot.
A second policeman, Robiul Islam, assistant commissioner of Uttara zone Detective Branch, has also died in the shooting, top police officials confirmed.
Another 25 officers and one civilian are being treated for injuries from gunshots and shrapnel, with 10 people in a critical condition, according to hospital authorities.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity.
SITE said ISIS' Amaq News Agency reported ISIS terrorists had carried out the attack.
Speaking after the raid, Lieutenant Colonel Tuhin Mohammed Masud, commander of the Rapid Action Battalion said: 'We have gunned down at least six terrorists and the main building is cleared but the operation is still going on.'
A Japanese government spokesman said that a Japanese hostage was rescued with a gunshot wound but seven others are unaccounted for.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said that the eight were together at the restaurant at the time of the attack.
One member of staff from the restaurant who managed to escape, Sumon Reza, told Bangladeshi newspaper
The Daily Star: 'They blasted several crude bombs, causing wide-scale panic among everyone. I managed to flee during this confusion.'
He added: 'They came armed with pistols, swords and bombs. They shouted Allahu Akbar [God is great] before blasting the bombs.'
ISIS claimed 24 people had been killed and a further 40 were wounded in the attack. Images of the carnage were distributed on social media channels with links to the jihadi terror organisation.
Bangladeshi officials have said 20 have died with a number of others in a critical condition in hospital.
Hospital staff dealing with casualties said of the 26 people they are currently treating, ten are in a critical condition with six on life support.