Tamim Chowdhury, the Dhaka café massacre mastermind, is killed in raid: Police

Gulshan cafe attack 'mastermind' Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and two other suspected militants have been killed during a gunfight at a militant hideout in Narayanganj, police say.

Counter-terrorsim Unit's Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain told bdnews24.com that the gunfight erupted Saturday morning after police had begun a raid on a building at the city's Pikeparha.

The unit's chief Monirul Islam had earlier told bdnews24.com that the raid was conducted based on information obtained from an arrested operative of the banned group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). 

Canadian-Bangladeshi Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury had been identified by police as the mastermind of the Jul 1 attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka, when 22 people, including 17 foreign nationals and two police officers, were killed.

Police had announced Tk 2 million reward earlier this month for information leading to his arrest.

Tamim’s name came up on the list of 10 missing people released by law-enforcers after it emerged that Gulshan café killers and Sholakia attackers, who attempted a raid on the largest Eid congregation in Bangladesh, had been reported missing by their families.

Intelligence officials say Tamim is a JMB leader.

International media reports, citing several Islamic State publications, have described him as the coordinator of Middle East-based group’s Bangladesh chapter.

According to reports, the 30-year-old had been missing from Canada since 2013.Tamim’s family hails from the northeastern Bangladesh district of Sylhet.

His father Shafi Ahmed Chowdhury, who was a mariner, immigrated to Canada in the early 1970s.