Dhaka cafe attackers tried to spread fear by phones of hostages, survivor tells Japan’s NHK

The gunmen who staged Bangladesh’s deadliest terror attack had tried to spread fear using the phones of the people they had taken hostage, a survivor has told Japan public broadcaster NHK.

Of the victims who died in the July 1 carnage in Gulshan cafe, seven were Japanese nationals who used to work for the development agency JICA in Bangladesh.

The NHK quoted a Bangladeshi woman, who was among the hostages held at the restaurant, as saying that the attackers had told them to take phone calls from families and friends, and tell them what was happening.

She said the assailants listened in on the phone conversations the hostages had. She added that some of them had been ordered to ask their families to urge police not to raid the restaurant.

Police told NHK that the terrorists may have wanted to use the calls to spread fear about their brutal actions, including the killing of the foreigners.

Earlier, the woman said foreign hostages were killed within the first 30 minutes of the siege, suggesting the assailants had never intended to negotiate.

The gunmen reportedly got the password for the restaurant's wireless network from the staff.

Police are now poing over communication records to see if they accessed the network to check media reports and contact collaborators outside.