Bangladesh cafe siege ends; 6 gunmen killed, 13 hostages rescued

DHAKA - Bangladesh security forces ended the siege on Saturday at a cafe in Dhaka where dozens of diners were being held captive after shooting dead six of the hostage-takers and rescuing thirteen hostages, officials said.

"The operation is over. The situation is completely under control," army spokesman Colonel Rashidul Hasan told AFP.

Tuhin Mohammad Masud, a commander of the elite Rapid Action Battalion which stormed the cafe, said there had been a number of casualties during the operation.

"We have gunned down six of the terrorists. The main area that they have been occupying has been cleared," Masud told India's Times Now.

Thirteen hostages were also rescued after security forces ended the siege, a top military commander said.

"Three of them are foreigners. Ten locals," said Tuhin Mohammad Masud, a commander of the elite Rapid Action Battalion, which stormed the cafe.