Gunmen Take Hostages In Deadly Bangladesh Restaurant Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CBSNewYork/CBS News/AP) -- ISIS claimed responsibility late Friday for an ongoing hostage situation at a restaurant in Bangladesh.
As many as nine gunmen attacked the restaurant and bakery, which is located in a diplomatic zone in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. They took dozens of hostages and exchanged gunfire with security forces, authorities and a witness said.
Two police officers were killed in the attack, the police said. CBS News confirmed at least 12 people were injured.
Hospital authorities said another 25 officers and one civilian were being treated for injuries, including 10 people listed in critical condition. The injuries include bullet wounds and broken bones, they said.
A huge contingent of security forces cordoned off the area around the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area. Several other wounded police officers were hospitalized after security forces exchanged fire with the attackers inside the restaurant who also hurled bombs.
After a standoff overnight, a large contingent of security forces moved in around 8 a.m. Saturday to try and rescue the hostages.
"Our commandos have stormed into the restaurant. Intense gun fighting on," Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a deputy director at the Rapid Action Battalion force, told Reuters.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, later claimed responsibility for the attack. ISIS and al Qaeda affiliates have claimed responsibility for many recent attacks in the country but the government denies that either group has a presence there.
The attackers "have not responded to authorities' calls for negotiation," said a member of the Rapid Action Battalion, identifying himself as Lt. Col. Masood, during an interview with the Indian TV channel Times Now. He said the police cordon would prevent any of the attackers from escaping.
He said authorities were planning to launch a coordinated response at dawn. They also ordered internet services to be blocked across the country, according to internet service provider Aamra.
"Some derailed youths have entered the restaurant and launched the attack," Benazir Ahmed said."We have talked to some of the people who fled the restaurant after the attack. We want to resolve this peacefully. We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want."
"Some of our people have been injured. Our first priority is to save the lives of the people trapped inside," Ahmed said. He would not say how many people were trapped inside.
At least 35 people, including about 20 foreigners, were still trapped inside the restaurant, according to kitchen staffer, Sumon Reza, who was among more than 10 people who managed to run to the rooftop and escape.
He said the attackers chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) as they launched the attack around 9:20 p.m. Friday, initially opening fire with blanks.
Bangladeshi security personnel stand guard near a restaurant that was attacked by gunmen in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 1, 2016.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters: "We are aware of reports of what appears to a hostage situation in the Gulshan neighborhood of Dhaka."
Kirby said that all American citizens that are under the authority of the diplomatic chief of mission in Dhaka were accounted for and were not involved in the incident, but the department is still checking on private American citizens who may have been in the area.
He said it was too early to say who was involved in the assault and their motivation.
All Defense Department employees in the area were accounted for, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.
On Twitter, the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka advised people to shelter in place.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation by his counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, a White House official told CBS News. Mr. Obama asked to be kept informed as the situation developed.
Bangladesh, a traditionally moderate Muslim-majority nation, has recently seen an upsurge in militant violence. Nearly two dozen atheist writers, publishers, members of religious minorities, social activists and foreign aid workers have been slain since 2013 by attackers wielding machetes. The frequency of attacks has increased in recent months. On Friday, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death by at least three assailants in southwest Bangladesh.
The attacks have raised fears that religious extremists are gaining a foothold in the country, despite its traditions of secularism and tolerance.
On Thursday, the State Department officially designated al Qaeda's affiliate in Bangladesh, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, as a foreign terrorist organization. The group has claimed responsibility for the killings of U.S. citizen Avijit Roy and U.S. Embassy worker Xulhaz Manna, who was hacked to death, according to the department.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has cracked down on domestic radical Islamists. It has accused local terrorists and opposition political parties - especially the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami - of orchestrating the violence in order to destabilize the nation, which both parties deny.
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