July 2016 Dhaka attack
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On the night of 1 July 2016, at 21:20 local time, five militants took hostages and opened fire on the
Holey Artisan Bakery Holey Artisan Bakery is a bakery headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was described in ''The New York Times'' "as among the most beloved restaurants in Dhaka". It is a sister company of Izumi. History The restaurant was originally located on R ...
in
Gulshan Thana Gulshan ( bn, গুলশান) is a thana situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is an affluent residential and business neighbourhood; and is now home to a number of the city's restaurants, shopping centres, schools, banks, members' clubs and ho ...
. The assailants entered the bakery with crude bombs, machetes, pistols, and took several dozen hostages (foreigners and locals). In the immediate response, while
Dhaka Metropolitan Police The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force unit in Bangladesh. A ...
tried to regain control of the bakery, two police officers were shot dead by the assailants. 29 people were killed, including 20 hostages (17 foreigners and 3 locals), two police officers, five gunmen, and two bakery staff. As the police were unsuccessful in breaching the bakery and securing the hostages, they set up a perimeter along with the
Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, B ...
and
Border Guards Bangladesh Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...
. Very early on 2 July (around 03:00), it was decided that the Bangladesh Armed Forces would launch a counter assault named ''Operation Thunderbolt''. The assault was led by the 1st Para-commando Battalion, an elite force in the
Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and defe ...
, and began their raid at 07:40. According to Bangladesh's
Inspector General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...
, all of the attackers were Bangladeshi citizens.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
(ISIL) claimed responsibility for the incident and released photographs of the gunmen, but the
home minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...
of Bangladesh,
Asaduzzaman Khan Asaduzzaman Khan (born 31 December 1950) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He became the Member of Parliament for Dhaka-12 in 2014, being re-elected in 2018. He currently serves as Minister of Home Affairs. Early life Khan was born on ...
, stated that the perpetrators belonged to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and were not affiliated with ISIL. The incident was described by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as the "deadliest Islamist attack in Bangladeshi history." The local media described it as 7/16.


Background

Bangladesh, having a population of about 170 million, is a developing country with a GDP per capita income of $2,221 per year. The constitution of the country declares
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
as one of the four fundamental principles of the country but also recognizes Islam as the state religion. Around 89% of Bangladeshis are Muslims, with the rest being Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others. The militant Islamic organization Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was founded in 1998 and outlawed in 2005 when it committed a series of bombings, but later took up activities again. Bangladesh government later
tried In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
and hanged
Shaykh Abdur Rahman Shaykh Abdur Rahman, also known as Abdur Rahman Shaykh, (died 30 March 2007) was the leader and the administrative head of the banned terrorist organization Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh ( en, Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh). Biography R ...
and Siddiqur Rahman, two leaders of the organization. Some attacks came from another Islamic terrorist group outlawed in 2005 named
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي, ''Ḥarkat al-Jihād al-Islāmiyah'', meaning "Islamic Jihad Movement", HuJI) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist Jihadist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Talib ...
, including the
2004 Dhaka grenade attack The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue on 21 August 2004. The attack left 24 dead and more than 500 injured. The attack was carried out at 5:22 pm after Sheikh Has ...
and
2001 Ramna Batamul bombings The Ramna Batamul bombing was a series of bomb attacks on 14 April 2001 at a cultural programme of the Pahela Baishakh celebrations arranged by Chaayanot, the leading cultural organization of Bangladesh. Ten people, including Shujan, a Harkat-ul ...
. Mufti Hannan, the leader of the terrorist group was sentenced to death on 23 December 2008. Since 2013, Muslim-majority Bangladesh has experienced an increase in Islamist attacks on religious minorities, secularist and atheist writers and bloggers, LGBT rights activists and liberal-minded Muslims. Since September 2015, there have been over 30 such attacks, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for 21 of them. Ansarullah Bangla Team, another terrorist group outlawed on 25 May 2015, also claimed responsibility for some of them. In November 2015, the ISIL magazine '' Dabiq'' published an article calling for the "revival of jihad in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
". Gulshan is a well off, upscale residential neighborhood of Dhaka and is home to many foreign embassies.


Attack and hostage

The attack started at about 21:40 local time. Five attackers entered the restaurant armed with bombs, pistols, and assault rifles. One attacker also had a sword. They opened fire indiscriminately and detonated several of the bombs. Several patrons dove under their tables, while panicked staff members ran onto the stairs. An Argentinian-Italian chef named Diego Rossini bolted upstairs, while several restaurant employees followed him. They then jumped onto the rooftops of nearby buildings. Staff on the second floor ran and hid inside a restroom. A total of 8 staff members were hiding inside the restroom. The restroom was warm and cramped, as it was storing yeast and flour. The attackers then went upstairs and walked in front of the door, shouting "Bengali people, come out," "If you're Muslims, come out." Because there was no answer, the gunmen thought that there was no one inside the restroom, and locked the restroom's door. The staff members inside the restroom began to text their relatives, stating that they were inside the restroom and pleaded for help. The attackers then took many hostages, almost all foreigners. Reports indicate that the attackers were "unfailingly polite and solicitous" with the restaurant staff and other Bangladeshis. They took the staff into their confidence, complaining that foreigners, with their skimpy clothes and taste for alcohol, were impeding the spread of Islam. "Their lifestyle is encouraging local people to do the same thing," a militant said. Alerted by the gunfire, police detective Rabiul Karim and officer-in-charge Salauddin Khan started to investigate. Other police officers responded, arriving at the restaurant. The attackers then engaged in a shootout with the police. Police cordoned off the area around the restaurant and planned a rescue raid. The attackers however threw grenades and fired, killing officers Karim and Khan. DMP Commissioner, Asaduzzaman Mia, and several officers struck inside and opened fire on the militants in an attempt to rescue civilians from the site. 9 people were brought back from the site in the attempt. Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
was briefed by the Commissioner and she instructed him to move away with his men and informed him the Army Chief
Belal Shafiul Huq Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Haq (born 1 December 1958) is a retired Bangladesh army general and the chief of staff of the Bangladesh Army, in office from 25 June 2015 to 25 June 2018. Before his tenure as chief of staff he served as the principal ...
was on his way from Sylhet. The attackers then spotted one member of staff, named Miraj, who hid in the corner. One of the gunman told Miraj: "Everyone else ran away but you couldn't make it, that means God wants you to die." The gunman then strapped him to a chair with explosives, creating their human shield. The gunmen then separated the Muslims from the non-Muslims. The Muslims were given food and water, while the non-Muslims, were not. On the early morning of 2 July, the attackers began releasing hostages. A group of women wearing hijabs were released by the attackers; they offered a young Bangladeshi man, Faraaz Hossain, the opportunity to leave as well. However, Hossain refused their offer and refused to leave his friends, who were prohibited from leaving by the gunmen. Pictures allegedly taken from inside the restaurant were circulated on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
by pro-ISIL accounts and show several bodies and pools of blood on the floor. The daily ''
Kaler Kantho ''Kaler Kantho'' ( bn, কালের কণ্ঠ, translit=Daily Voice of Time) is one of the most popular Bengali newspapers in Bangladesh. It is an enterprise of East-West Media Group, a sister concern of Bangladesh's leading business cong ...
'' reported that the militant group
Ansar al-Islam Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan ( ku, ئەنسارولئیسلام له کوردستان),Chalk, Peter, ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism'' Volume 1, 2012, ABC-CLIO simply called Ansar al-Islam ( ku, ئەنسارولئیسلام), also nicknamed the Kurdi ...
announced the upcoming attack via a tweet almost 10 hours before the actual attack took place.


Rescue operation

The rescue operation was ordered by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
and was named ''Operation Thunderbolt''. The planning of the Operation was finalized at a meeting between the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Armed forces chiefs and top officials of different law enforcement agencies. The operation was led by 1st Para-Commando Battalion under the leadership of Operational Commander Brig Gen Majibur Rahman of the Bangladesh Army's 46 Independent Infantry Brigade . Members of the Bangladesh Army,
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
,
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
,
Border Guard Bangladesh Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...
,
Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
,
Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, B ...
, and SWAT started the rescue operation at 07:40 local time. Commandos stormed into the bakery with nine APCs acting in support, smashing through the wall. A man, living next to the restaurant, took a video of the operation and tweeted it on internet. Within 12 to 13 minutes, they took control over the area. The rescue operation lasted around 50 minutes. Bangladesh Army chief General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq and Bangladesh Navy chief Admiral
Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed (born c. 1960) was an admiral in the Bangladesh Navy and the former Chief of Naval Staff. He previously served as the Director of Coast Guard Operations and commander of Chittagong Naval Command (COMCHIT). He also served ...
were present in the area during the raid. Thirteen hostages were rescued. Five of the attackers were killed exchanging fire with the commandos, while the sixth was captured alive. During the operation one of the bakery's chefs was mistakenly identified as an attacker by the commandos and shot dead. Two of the hostages, Tahmid Hasib Khan and Hasnat Karim, were taken by police for questioning, and subsequently vanished amidst confusion about whether they had been released or not.


Casualties

Twenty-two civilians, five terrorists, and two police officers were confirmed killed, while 50 others, mostly police personnel, were injured. The two dead police officers included Rabiul Islam, Assistant Commissioner of Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and Salahuddin Ahmed, officer-in-charge of the nearby Banani police station. Nine Italian citizens were among the victims. The Bangladesh Army initially announced that all 20 hostages killed in the attack were foreigners, and that they were "killed brutally with sharp weapons" by the perpetrators. Those who could recite a verse from the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
from memory were spared in an effort to only kill non-Muslims. Later a chef of the bakery was identified among the dead bodies. An injured staff of the bakery died at
Dhaka Medical College Hospital Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus. The country's first eve ...
on 8 July 2016. Among the dead were seven Japanese citizens – five men and two women – who were associated with the
Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...
(JICA). One of the women was pregnant at the time. - Tarishi Jain, a 19-year-old female student of the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, of Indian nationality, was also killed. The dead included: The five terrorists who died during rescue operation by military and joint forces are: Among the injured were 25 police personnel. Among them were several higher-ranking officers of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police including an Additional Commissioner, two Additional Deputy Commissioners, the Officer-in-charge of the Gulshan police station and an Inspector. The Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro had attended a meeting in Bangladesh and visited the attack site. He then took the bodies of 9 Italian victims and carried them to their homeland in Italy. The plane carrying the bodies landed on 5 July at Ciampino Military Airbase south of Rome, Italy. Autopsy shows that all nine Italians were tortured in the attack. Several of them were slashed with knives and several of them were mutilated. Authorities confirmed that the nine Italian victims suffered "slow and agonizing death". Relatives of the seven Japanese victims in the attack were flown to Bangladesh to view and identify the bodies, accompanied by Senior Vice Foreign Minister Seiji Kihara,
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. A ceremony for the repatriation of the bodies were held at a stadium in Dhaka, which was attended by the Japan's Ambassador to Bangladesh, Masato Watanabe. The bodies of the seven Japanese victims were flown to Tokyo on 5 July. The plane took off from
Shahjalal International Airport Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport ( bn, হযরত শাহ্‌জালাল আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Romanized: ''Hôzrôt Shahjalal Antôrjatik Bimanbôndôr'') ( formerly VGZR) is th ...
at 8:40 pm local Bangladesh time. Survivors recalled that the attackers had no mercy to the foreigners. One of the survivors stated that an Indian woman, identified as Tarishi Jain, who had been badly injured was moaning in agony but a perpetrator took a sword to her and killed her without mercy.


Responsibility

An initial report from Amaq News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said the group claimed it had killed 24 people and wounded 40 others. A second report, issued directly by ISIL a few hours later, said the group had killed "22 crusaders" and was accompanied by photos of the attackers, standing in front of ISIL banners. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', citing Bangladesh police, the attackers were named Akash, Badhon, Bikash, Don, and Ripon. ISIL referred to the five men by their kunya which were Abu Omar al-Bengali, Abu Salmah al-Bengali, Abu Rahim al-Bengali, Abu Muslim al-Bengali and Abu Muharib al-Bengali. According to ''The New York Times'', pictures of the bodies of the five men, released by Bangladeshi police, matched five photographs of the men released by ISIL. Nevertheless, the
home minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...
of Bangladesh, Asaduzzaman Khan, stated that the perpetrators belonged to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and were not affiliated with ISIL. They were well-educated and mostly from rich families. Bangladeshi politicians also blamed opposition groups, like those within the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
, of plotting to destabilize the country by supporting Islamic extremists like the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. The opposition denied such claims. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's political adviser Hossain Toufique Imam claimed that Bangladesh authorities who monitored social media saw several messages on Twitter on Friday (1 July 2016) saying there would be an attack; however, police believed that the attack would target embassies or major hotels and restaurants instead. The attackers, all in their late teens or early 20s, were identified as wealthy men from Bangladesh's elite, having attended top private schools and universities in Bangladesh and abroad. It was revealed that three of the attackers came from a privileged background, educated with western curricula. Police named the five gunmen who attacked the restaurant as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam and Shafiqul Islam. One of them Nibras Islam was known as a "fun-loving, in and out of love, and keen on sport". He attended Monash University in Malaysia and returned because "he didn't like it in Monash". Nibras' father was a businessman with two houses in Dhaka, and one of his uncles was a Deputy Secretary to the Bangladesh Government. It was revealed that Nibras was following a Twitter account belonged to an Islamic State propagandist named Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was arrested in
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
in 2015. Two gunmen were identified as Meer Sameh Mubashir and Rohan Imtiaz. Both went to Scholastica School which follows
Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge Assessment International Education (informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations ...
curriculum. Local newspapers reported that both of them had gone missing long before the attack. Rohan Imtiaz has been identified as the son of a politician in Bangladesh's ruling party Awami League. Police then identified another gunman, named as Shafiqul Islam Ujjal from Koiyagarhi village,
Bogra District Bogra District, officially known as Bogura District, is a district in the northern part of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized companies are sited. Bogra was a part of the ancient Pun ...
. He enrolled at
Government Azizul Haque College Government Azizul Haque College in Bogura is a higher secondary school and college under the National University of Bangladesh. It is one of the largest educational institutions in Bangladesh's northern region. History The college was establ ...
in
Bogra Bogra ( bn, বগুড়া), officially known as Bogura, is a major city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in Rajshahi Divi ...
for graduation after passing higher secondary examinations. He had left the college later and took up a teaching job at a kindergarten school in Shajahan Market area in Dhaka. On 6 July 2016, a video was released by IS from Syria through SITE intelligence website, where three Bengali speakers warned the Bangladeshi Government saying "What you witnessed in Bangladesh...was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world. The jihad that is waged today is a jihad under the shade of the Caliphate."


Suspects, arrests and convictions

On 16 July 2016, Police arrested three people for renting out a flat to the attackers in
Bashundhara Residential Area Bashundhara ( bn, বসুন্ধরা আবাসিক এলাকা) is an upscale residential area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The area is developed by Bashundhara Group. The project of Basundhara was started in the 1980s. In 2011 portio ...
. One of them was Gias Uddin Ahsan, a professor of North South University. The other two were his nephew Alam Chowdhury and the manager of the building Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin. Police found sand-filled cartons, which police suspect to be used to carry grenades thrown during the attack and used clothes in the flat. Police also suspect that the attackers and their associates stayed in the flat during Ramadan, and the attack plan was drafted there. On 26 July 2016, police raided an apartment in Kallyanpur, killing nine and tly assisted byarresting two, all of whom are believed to be part of the same group that carried out the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, and who were planning another attack. It is reported that the police were directing vigilantes organized as a "citizen's committee" by the local MP for Dhaka-14, Aslamul Haque. Participants included members of the Awami League,
Jubo League The Bangladesh Awami Jubo League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী যুবলীগ) commonly known as the Jubo League, is the first youth organization of Bangladesh founded by Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani. It is the youth wing o ...
, and
Chhatra League The Bangladesh Chhatra League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' po ...
. On 27 August 2016, Tamim Chowdhury, the supposed mastermind of the attack, was killed in a raid on an IS safehouse in Dhaka by Bangladeshi forces. On 2 September his deputy Murad was killed in another raid in Dhaka's Rupnagar area. On 6 January 2017, Bangladeshi police shot dead two Islamist militants including Nurul Islam Marjan, a commander of a splinter group of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) which is the prime suspect and was on a police wanted list for his role in the attack since July 2016. On the night of 13 January 2017, Bangladeshi counterterrorism forces arrested Jahangir Alam, man suspected of being a key planner of the attack in
Tangail District Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল জেলা) formerly a small Mohokuma of Greater Mymensingh district is a district (''zila'') in the central region of Bangladesh. In 1969, Tangail district was created by Tangail Mohokuma from its 237 ...
. In December 2018, the trial of eight people accused of being
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen ("Assembly of Mujahideen--Bangladesh", abbreviated: JMB; bn, জামাত-উল-মুজাহিদীন বাংলাদেশ) is a terrorist organisation operating in Bangladesh. It is listed as a terror group b ...
who were suspected of helping plan and supply weapons for the attack opened before a special tribunal in Dhaka. In November 2019 seven were convicted and sentenced to death while one was acquitted.


Zakir Naik and Peace TV

After revealing the investigations of the attack in July 2016 published by The Daily Star that a terrorist involved in the brutal killings followed
Zakir Naik Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born 18 October 1965) is an Indian Islamic televangelist and public orator who focuses on comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and the Peace TV Network. In 2 ...
's page on Facebook and was influenced by Naik's speeches, The terrorist had posted sermons of Zakir Naik on social media where Naik urged "all Muslims to be terrorists" Indian Union Minister of State for Home Affairs
Kiren Rijiju Kiren Rijiju (born 19 November 1971) is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh who serves as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice in the Government of India. Early life Rijiju was born on 19 November 1971 at Nakhu near Nafra in West K ...
said, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this." He was then termed a controversial as well as a popular figure by the media. After 2 days in investigation, the Maharashtra State Intelligence Department (SID) gave a clean chit to Zakir Naik and said that Naik would not and cannot be arrested on his return to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as the probe ordered by the Maharashtra government did not find any other strong evidence to link Naik to terror-related activities. '' The Daily Star'' apologized to Naik over the Dhaka Terror Attack controversy and stated that they never blamed him for the attack. The newspaper quoted that it only reported how youth were misinterpreting his speeches. However, soon thereafter the Bangladesh Government banned the broadcast of Naik's
Peace TV Peace TV is a non-profit Emirati satellite television network that broadcasts free-to-air programming. It is one of the world's largest religious satellite television networks. On 21 January 2006, Zakir Naik created the network, which is based ...
channel.
Hasanul Haq Inu Hasanul Haq Inu (born 12 November 1946) is a Bangladeshi politician and the former Minister of Information of Bangladesh. He leads a faction of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and was involved in a Marxist insurgency in the 1970s. Early life and ...
, the Information Minister, reasoned that "Peace TV is not consistent with Muslim society, the Quran, sunnah, hadith, Bangladesh's constitution, our culture, customs and rituals".


Reactions

* Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the killings and hostage crisis and stated that Islamic terrorists were maligning the name of Islam and assured that the government will do everything to restrain militancy and extremism in the country. President
Abdul Hamid ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحميد) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥamīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gave rise t ...
also condemned the terrorist attack and expressed deep shock at the death of the hostages and police officials. Two days of national mourning was observed in the memory of the deceased victims. * The Brazilian envoy to Bangladesh, Wanja Campos da Nóbrega termed the café attack a "cowardly act" and expressed condolences for the victims. She added that the
Brazilian Government The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative o ...
condemns vehemently this violent act and supports Bangladesh in its fight against terrorism. * The High Commissioner of Canada in Dhaka, Benoît-Pierre Laramée, released a statement, saying that "Canada stands with Bangladesh in face of this act of terror". * The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen released a statement: "Such meaningless violence is completely unacceptable and must be fought. Our strongest response is to stay united and not let our democracy, liberty and way of live fall into fear and despair". The Danish authorities were in close contact with the security over their citizens in Dhaka. * The
French Foreign Ministry The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to th ...
in a statement said "Terrorism is a global scourge. France is determined to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism everywhere". *
German Foreign Minister , insignia = Bundesadler Bundesorgane.svg , insigniasize = 80px , insigniacaption = , department = Federal Foreign Office , image = Annalena Baerbock (cropped, 2).jpg , alt = , incumbent = Annalena Baerbock , incumbentsince = 8 December ...
Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...
said in a statement: "Once more conscienceless terrorists struck with sheer brutality and forced numerous human beings to die with them. I condemn this horrid attack in the strongest possible terms. We mourn the victims and share the grief of their relatives. In these sad hours, my thoughts are with the people in Bangladesh as well as with our Italian, Japanese and Indian friends and all those affected by this gruesome attack." * Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
condemned the attack and said, "the attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words." He also telephoned his Bangladeshi counterpart. President
Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
wrote on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that he was "deeply saddened at the loss of life and injuries caused to innocent civilians." *
Iranian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( fa, وزارت امور خارجه, Vezārat-e Omūr-e Khārejeh) is an Iranian government ministry headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran), Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is a member of cabinet. The ...
spokesman Bahram Qasemi condemned terrorist attacks in Dhaka and expressed condolence with Bangladesh., he later added: "The terrorist move proves that terrorism has no boundaries jeopardizing the international peace and security regardless of nationality, religion and geographical location requiring collective contribution. This inhuman carnage is very painful and all should come together to seriously thwart the threats posed by terrorism to the international community" * Italian Prime Minister 
Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
 offered condolences to the families of the victims, saying, "our values are stronger than hatred and terror." He also said that the nation had suffered "a painful loss." The
Italian national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body ...
wore black armbands during their
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
quarter final
match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
against
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Both teams held a
moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...
in memory of the victims before the game. * Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
telephoned his Bangladeshi counterpart and commanded the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh to rescue the Japanese alive from the crisis, labeling the incident as "unfortunate". Some other Japanese government officials and agencies including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshihide Suga is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2020 to 2021. He had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fro ...
,
Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...
expressed their concern over the incident and condemned the killings. * Emir of Kuwait,
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح, translit=ash-Shaykh Sabāh al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; 16 June 192929 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwai ...
sent a cable to President of Bangladesh, expressing sorrow over the attack and called the attack as "heinous". * Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attack and said this is "a clarion call" for the world to unite against the scourge of terrorism. He urged every governments in the world to "analyse every shred of information" and share them across all intelligence agencies * The
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
on 7 July condemned "in the strongest terms" the attack on a popular tourist café in Bangladesh that killed 20 foreigners on 1 July. "The Philippines expresses its solidarity with the Government and people of Bangladesh and extends sincere condolences to the victims' families," the DFA said in a statement. The DFA described the siege in Dhaka as a "serious atrocity committed against peace-loving nations and peoples." * The
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
released a statement which read: "we are indignant at this yet another inhumane terrorist attack, which has no justification. We express our sincere condolences to the relatives of those killed and wish the injured quickest recovery.What happened in Dhaka once again proves that it is necessary to immediately combine efforts of all the global community to fight international terrorism." * Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack in its strongest terms. It stated: "There can be no justifications for such heinous actions. We express our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish the injured a speedy recovery". * Ambassador of Switzerland to Dhaka Christian Fotsch condemned the attack. He stated that "The people of Bangladesh are admired for their hospitality extended to foreigners and for preserving their tolerant and secular heritage – values which Switzerland shares very much. Appropriate measures are to be taken to prevent the spread of violent extremism and to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice." * British Prime Minister David Cameron conveyed to his Bangladeshi counterpart that "as a close friend of Bangladesh, the UK is committed to working with you, and stand ready to discuss any assistance that the UK may be able to provide. I also share the pain of the people of Bangladesh at this difficult time. Nothing can justify such an attack on innocent people going about their daily lives." The British High Commission in Dhaka termed the attack as a "senseless act of terror" and stated that "We should do all that we can to strengthen our resolve to proclaim Islam as a religion of peace and to reject those who seek to justify violence in its name." * U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and Secretary of State
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
offered condolences to the victims and reiterated their support for Bangladesh in its commitment against religious militancy. President Obama was briefed during the 12-hour siege. Numerous members of the
U. S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingt ...
also condemned the attacks, expressed solidarity with Bangladeshis and other involved nationalities; and called for a strong response against the perpetrators.


Organizations

* EU Chief of Foreign Policy
Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...
issued a statement expressing 'solidarity' with Bangladesh. The statement said that the EU stands with the people of Bangladesh and offered their deepest condolences to the dead and to the wounded. * The
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
, as shocked to hear the attack and condemned the attack in its strongest terms, and offered their condolences to the victims of the attack. * The
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
strongly condemned the terrorist attack and said, "the members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security".


In popular culture

* ''
Shonibar Bikel ''Shonibar Bikel'' () is a 2019 Bangladeshi-German-Russian co-production film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, a one shot political thriller, inspired from the July 2016 Dhaka attack. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Moscow Internat ...
'', a 2019 film, is based on the event.


See also

*
2014 Sydney hostage crisis The Lindt Cafe siege was a terrorist attack that occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café in the APA Building in Martin Place, Sydney, ...
*
List of hostage crises This is a list of notable hostage crises by date. References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Hostage Crises + Hostage crises A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liber ...


References


External links


Panoramic images of the bakery on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhaka attack Attacks on bakeries Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 ISIL terrorist incidents in Bangladesh July 2016 crimes in Asia Mass murder in 2016 Murder in Bangladesh Massacres in 2016 Massacres in Bangladesh Terrorist incidents in Bangladesh in 2016 Hostage taking in Bangladesh Crime in Dhaka Terrorism in Bangladesh 2010s in Dhaka