Police Lt. Col. Tuhin Mohammad Masud confirmed to the Associated Press that six assailants were gunned down and that the restaurant’s main building had been cleared in the raid.
Two police officers were also killed in the early stages of the hostage takeover.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the 10-hour siege, which began late Friday at the Holey Artisan Bakery, a popular eatery with foreigners.
Brig General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury, director of military operations, said the victims were killed execution-style by a sharp weapon long before the launch of rescue operation, according to the Dhaka Tribune. The newspaper said that an employee who had escaped reported that one of the terrorists had wielded a sword.
In a nationally televised speech, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina confirmed hostages had been killed, but did not provide an exact number. Hasina said security officials arrested one of the militants and vowed to fight terrorism.
"It was an extremely heinous act," the prime minister said. "What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion."
She said her government "determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh."
The father of one of the hostages said the gunmen tortured anyone who could not recite a verse from the Quran, the Daily Star newspaper reported. Rezaul Karim said his son, Hasnat, was at the restaurant with his wife and children to celebrate his daughter's eighth birthday.
“They (gunmen) did not behave rough with the Bangladesh nationals,” Rezaul said, quoting his son's account of the ordeal. “Rather they provided night meals for all Bangladeshis.”
“The gunmen were doing a background check on religion by asking everyone to recite from the Quran," he said. "Those who could recite a verse or two were spared. The others were tortured.”
Details on the outcome of the rescue operation were unclear. A Japanese government spokesman said a Japanese hostage was rescued with a gunshot wound but seven others were unaccounted for. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said that the eight were together at the restaurant during the attack.
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said some Italians were among the victims, but declined to provide details until families were notified. Ansa, the Italian news agency, said as many as 10 Italians may still be unaccounted for.
Masud said that two Sri Lankans also were rescued. Others included an Argentine and two Bangladeshis, local media reported.
About 35 people were reportedly taken hostage Friday night, including about 20 foreigners, when gunmen stormed the bakery in a popular diplomatic zone.
Security forces tried to negotiate an end to the situation, Gowher Rivzi, an adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, told Reuters. At least two police officers were killed in an early fight between the militants and security forces before the 10-hour standoff began.
Assistant Commissioner of Ramna Division Shibly Noman told Dhaka Tribune that a police officer at the scene, Salahuddin Ahmed , was killed. Rabiul Islam, assistant commissioner of Detective Branch of Police, also died of injuries at United Hospital, Deputy Commissioner of DB Nazmul Hasan confirmed, according to the paper.
At least 24 police officers were reported injured, including one in critical condition, the newspaper said.
Sumon Reza, a supervisor at the bakery, said the gunmen were armed with small firearms and a sharp weapon, Dhaka Tribune reported. Local reports said the terrorists tossed grenades at police who besieged the building.
Reza said the gunmen, described as being under 30, shouted "Allah Akbar (God is great)" when they entered the restaurant.
A huge contingent of security guards cordoned off the area around the restaurant, trading gunfire with the attackers who set off bombs and exchanged gunfire with the security forces.
“Some derailed youths have entered the restaurant and launched the attack,” Benazir Ahmed, the head of the elite anti-crime force, Rapid Action Battalion , or RAB, told reporters. “We have talked to some of the people who fled the restaurant after the attack. We want to resolve this peacefully. We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want.”
Abdul Rashid, a 23-year-old engineering student, was shocked that anyone would dare stage such a daring assault in an affluent residential area where the city's best restaurants and shopping often attract foreigners.
"This is for the first time in the history of our country that we are witnessing such terror,” Rashid said. “This is something very unexpected for the Bangladeshis. What used to be a rather peaceful country is now looking at more radical side of it.”
But others noted that the terror appears to be an escalation of violence in a wave of incidents that has taken place in the South Asian country recently.
“Rampant attacks on bloggers, liberal intellectuals and minority Hindus and Christians suggest that the Islamic fundamentalists have penetrated society,” said Salma Muktadir, 34, an ad agency copywriter in Dhaka.
Muktadir felt the attacks would undermine the credibility of Prime Minister Hasina.
"There is a sense of fear in Dhaka right now," she said. "People fear for their future. The attack in such a high-security zone has left many people questioning the ability of the current government. The government of Sheikh Hasina has been weak and clueless."
The assault on the restaurant comes amid dozens of murders, often by hacking but sometimes by shooting, that are part of a wave of violence mostly targeting writers, activists, foreigners and religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country.
Over the past 18 months, 48 killings have been blamed on Islamic militants, with more than half claimed by the Islamic State, according to SITE. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for most of the others.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar-al-Islam group claimed responsibility for the April killing of a U.S. government employee, an editor of an LGBT magazine, after he was hacked to death in Dhaka. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for last month's hacking death of a Hindu priest, a Hindu monastery worker and a Christian grocer.
The government insists neither the Islamic State nor Al-Qaeda have a foothold in Bangladesh, instead blaming homegrown militants. Last month, it began a nationwide crackdown on the incidents, arresting thousands of people after the number of attacks increased.
USA TODAY
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