An ISIS attack in Bangladesh’s capital should surprise no one

Bangladeshi security personnel stand guard near a restaurant that was attacked by gunmen in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 1. (AP)

On Friday night, assailants attacked a restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh's teeming capital. They fired weapons and hurled grenades. After a 10-hour standoff, the Associated Press reported, Bangladeshi forces stormed the business, killing six attackers and rescuing 13 hostages. Two officers and 20 hostages were slain during the siege.
Officers of the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite paramilitary police unit, filled the streets of Gulshan, a leafy district that's home to diplomats as well as the country's elite. The restaurant that was under siege is a bakery in the daytime and a Spanish eatery at night.
A media group online linked to the Islamic State took credit for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity. It's not clear, though, that the organization has a genuine operational presence in the country.
Speculation had immediately fallen on extremist groups believed to be operating in Bangladesh, including outfits affiliated both with al-Qaeda's South Asian wing and the Islamic State. In the past two years, horrific attacks by self-declared Islamists have targeted Hindus, intellectuals, secularist writers and bloggers.

    

• 20 foreigners killed in attack on Dhaka restaurant
• Six gunmen are killed and one is captured
• 13 hostages freed as commandos storm restaurant
• Hostages made to recite verses from Koran
• Islamic State claim responsibility
• Attackers carrying swords and crude bombs, says manager 

Twenty foreign hostages were hacked to death with sharp weapons by Islamist terrorists during a dramatic siege at an upmarket Dhaka restaurant that ended in a bloodbath on Saturday morning.
The majority of the victims were from Italy and Japan. No Britons have yet been confirmed among the casualties.
At a press conference held after midday local time at the Bangladesh army headquarters, Brig-Gen Nayeen Ashtaq Chowdhury confirmed that 20 people were found killed using locally made sharp weapons, after police and military broke the siege with Operation Thunderbolt, which lasted from 7.40am to 8.30am.
Two Sri Lankans and one Japanese hostage were rescued, along with around a dozen Bangladeshis.
Two separate sources - a rescue worker and a paramilitary officer - told the Telegraph the victims had severe wounds to their necks and throats.
Six of the attackers were shot dead during the raid on the Holey Artisan Bakery, an expatriates' favourite.

Two or three gunmen are believed to have been arrested. Police found pistols, rifles, bombs and knives at the scene.
The siege in Gulshan, Bangladesh's most affluent district, started more than twelve hours earlier, when eight or nine gunmen stormed the restaurant and opened fire, killing two policemen.

Police took the decision to bring the siege to its ultimately bloody end on Saturday morning, after fruitless hours spent trying to communicate with the gunmen.

But a planned dawn raid had to be delayed as the area surrounding the restaurant - home to many embassies and international schools - was evacuated.
Military and police eventually moved in using snipers, armoured cars and Swat teams at 7.30am.
No police officers involved in the raid were injured.
It is not clear at what point the foreign hostages were killed, but they do appear to have been specifically targeted. Army officials said the victims had been killed in the early morning, prior to the raid.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the attack and said security officials arrested one of the militants.
"Because of the effort of the joint force, the terrorists could not flee," Ms Hasina said in a nationally televised speech, vowing to fight militant attacks in the country and urged people to come forward.
"Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such act," Ms Hasina said. "They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism."
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadis activity online.
Sumon Reza, an employee of the restaurant who witnessed the attack, escape, told Bangladeshi media the assailants had taken hostages and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before detonating explosive devices.

He told the Daily Star website: “They blasted several crude bombs causing wide-scale panic among everyone. I managed to flee during this confusion,” he said. “They came armed with pistols, swords and bombs.”

Bangladesh has seen a series of attacks recently, mostly using machetes, targeting bloggers, atheists and religious minorities.

James Moriarty, former US ambassador to Bangladesh, described the area as “the epicentre of the entire country,” surrounded by residential compounds and embassies.
He told CNN: “Because of the time of evening, and in Ramadan, a lot of people would be out on the street with family and friends.
“It tells me that they are trying to create a high profile incident to drive home the message that they can attack any time, anywhere.”
source-telegraph.washingtonpost