Shehzad, one of nine slain suspected militants, is a US citizen

Shehzad Rouf Arka alias Morocco, one of the nine suspected militants killed when police busted a hideout in Dhaka's Kalyanpur, is a US citizen.

Shehzad's father Tawhid Rouf, a resident of Dhaka's Basundhara, went to the mortuary to identify his son.

A US embassy official was also with him.

Netizens have taken Shehzad's US citizenship as an issue of discussion on the social media.

A Bangladeshi-American was among the 22 persons killed by militants in the Gulshan cafe carnage.

Now a suspected militant has been identified as a US citizen with Bangladeshi origin.

The father did not disclose details about Shehzad's travel and stay in the US.

The US embassy also declined disclosing personal information of a citizen.

"Under the US Privacy Act, the embassy cannot provide information related to individuals," a spokesperson said.

"This is an on- going matter by Bangladesh law enforcement, and further inquiries should be directed to them," the spokesperson added.

The Washington Post said that Shehzad was born in Bangladesh and immigrated with his family in 1999.

In an interview with the newspaper, father Tawhid said that they moved back to Bangladesh in 2009 so his wife could be treated for cancer; she has since died.

The report said that Shehzad’s father is an arms and military supply trader.

Shehzad’s grandfather former Brigadier General Abdur Rouf, promoted in 1973 after repatriation from Pakistan, headed the then Directorate of Forces Intelligence (DFI) as its Director “until around Aug 10, 1975”, a DFI officer at the time told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

“Brig Rouf was posted out and Col Jamil (already promoted as brigadier) was posted in,” the officer recalled. “But the day before Brig Jamil was to take over at DFI, he was killed.” 

The officer, who did not wish to be named, said Brig Rouf had been promoted as head of National Security Intelligence “but the Bangabandhu was murdered in between his (Rouf’s) leaving DFI and taking over at NSI”.

Tawhid filed a general diary at Bhatara Police Station, saying Shehzad left home on Feb 6 and did not return.

But he is not sure whether the sixth person in the collage of photos released by police is Shehzad, DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman told reporters on Wednesday.

Sohel Mahmud, the forensic doctor who conducted the post-mortem examinations on the nine bodies, said Tawhid had told him after seeing the body that it had a mole on its nose and a curved ear that are similar to his son.

"But he was not certain that it was the body of his son as he was not so thin," Mahmud said.

Tawhid told reporters the faces of his son and the body of the dead 'militant' did not fully match.

He demanded a DNA test on the body.

"We will conduct DNA test if necessary," the forensic doctor said.

Until Wednesday night, police identified Shehzad and six others of the nine suspected militants killed in Kalyanpur.

Shehzad was a friend of Nibras Islam, one of the dead Gulshan attackers. Both of them studied in Monash University at its Malaysia campus. They were also accused in a same case at Shahbagh Police Station.

Nibras, who also studied in North South University, had been missing since Feb 3.

He had been staying with Abir Rahman, the dead Sholakia attacker, and eight others at a house in Jhenaidah.

It is being suspected that Shehzad, a naturalised US citizen, was also with Nibras and Abir in Jhenaidah.