Dhaka terror attack: Bangladesh authorities yet to lift cloud on many issues

Several questions on the deadly Dhaka terror attack have remained unanswered even though the home minister faced the media after the head of the government, the army and security agencies.

There is no specific information forthcoming on how many assailants carried out the attack, which militant group is behind it, how many have been detained and who they are.

The attackers, shouting ‘Allahu Akbar, launched the assault at Holey Artisan Bakery and O’Kitchen premises on Friday evening. Two policemen were killed by the gunmen who repelled a bid to end the siege.

The assailants took a number of people hostage. On Saturday morning, army commandos stormed the cafe and freed 13 of them.

Twenty hostages, including 17 foreigners, were found dead – their bodies tortured and disfigured. The army said its commandos killed six gunmen and captured another during the raid.

Police said two were held but no-one identified the detained person(s).

Later, five of those killed in the counterstrike were identified as attackers and a sixth one now appears to be Saiful Islam Chowkider, a chef of Holey Artisan Bakery.

Police have disclosed identities of two of them – Md Khairuzzaman and Shafiqul Islam Ujjal from Bogra madrasas.

The authorities are yet to confirm the identities of the three others.

But former classmates have identified them as Rohan Imtiaz, Nibras Islam and Meer Sameh Mubashsher, all from wealthy families in Dhaka, after Islamic State reportedly released photos of five gunmen.

Rohan’s family said his photo was not published because his face was disfigured during the assault.

Dhaka City police chief Asaduzzaman Mia on Tuesday said one of the two detained persons were undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

A person identified as Zakir Hossain Shawon, 22, a kitchen worker at the cafe, was detained in bloodied state at Gulshan within hours of the attack and now he is at DMCH.

His family claimed he was innocent and alleged police had tortured him.

Twenty-seven persons, including 13 freed hostages, were taken to Detective branch office following the raid. Many of them were released later after their statements were crosschecked.

On Monday, police said two of the 13 freed hostages were still in their custody.

One of them is Bangladeshi expatriate from Canada Tahmid Hasib Khan and the other is former North South University teacher Hasanat Reza Karim.

Tahmid told police he had gone to the cafe to hang out with his friends while Hasanat said he went with his family to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.

Hasanat was reportedly sacked by the private university for his link to banned Islamist militant outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir. Many have found his moves taped by a Korean citizen from an adjacent building during the siege suspicious.

On Tuesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal briefed the media but kept the questions unanswered, urging the people to wait for more information.

He said five of the six killed were militants. He did not disclose the identity of the other.

Bangladesh authorities have been denying claim of attacks by global terror groups IS and al-Qaeda.

The government is yet to directly dismiss the IS claim that its operatives had carried out the Gulshan attack.

IS reportedly released photos of slaughtered foreigners in the cafe when the siege was under way.

On Sunday, police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said they initially suspected the attackers are members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a Bangladesh-based militant group.

“We had been looking for them as JMB militants,” he said.

He, however, did not rule out the possibilities of an IS link to the siege.

“We will be able to say it after the investigation,” he said.

Police said a case was started on the attack at Gulshan Police Station on Monday but the copy of the case file was yet to reach a court following rules on Tuesday.

A DB official said the copy would be sent in the afternoon but it was not.

A police officer said the case file was not final yet.