DHAKA (Web Desk) – Bangladesh police barged into a militant hideout just outside Dhaka on Saturday shooting dead three extremists, including the suspected mastermind of an attack on a cafe that killed 22 last month.
Police officials confirmed the militants were killed in a raid on their hideout in Naraynganj, outskirts of Dhaka. Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, who was dubbed as the prime suspect of the attack on the cafe was also killed during the operation.
“We can see three dead bodies here,” senior police officer Sanwar Hossain told AFP.
“Tamim Chowdhury is dead. He is the Gulshan attack mastermind and the leader of JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, a domestic militant outfit),” he said.
Related: Bangladesh arrests two men for involvement in Dhaka restaurant attack
“The operation went on for an hour. We can see three dead bodies. They did not surrender. They threw four-five grenades at police and fired from AK 22 rifles” said Bangladesh national police chief A.K.M Shahidul Hoque.
At least 20 hostages, including 18 foreigners and two policemen, died in last month’s attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka, which was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
Six attackers were killed by paramilitary forces in the final stages of the 10-hour standoff at the cafe, but one suspect was taken alive and was being interrogated by Bangladeshi intelligence.
In June more than 11,000 people were arrested in a bid to quash a spate of brutal murders of secular writers, gay rights activists and religious minorities.
Read More: Bangladesh cafe siege ends; 6 gunmen killed, 13 hostages rescued
