Gunmen then held security services in 12-hour standoff before elite troops moved in and shot them dead

I slamist radicals slaughtered 20 people after the failed to recite the Koran before taking another 13 hostage

Three were stabbed to death after seven ISIS terrorists stormed cafe in Dhaka armed with guns and knives

Fellow Emory student Faraaz Hossain, who was born in Bangladesh, also identified among 20 victims of attack


At least three American students have been identified among 20 people killed during an ISIS attack on a cafe in Bangladesh yesterday.

Abinta Kabir, a student at Emory University who was from Miami, Florida, died when terrorists attacked the largely foreign crowd inside the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka last night.

Fellow Emory student Faraaz Hossain, who attended the college's business school, was also identified as being among the dead by a spokesman today. Tarushi Jain, 19, who studied at University of California Berkeley campus, was also killed.

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Abinta Kabir, an American student from Miami, Florida, has been identified as one of the 20 foreigners killed during the ISIS attack on a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka last night

Kabir (far right), an undergraduate student at Emory University, Georgia, was visiting family and friends in Bangladesh at the time of the attack, a university spokesman said

Ruba Ahmed, Kabir's mother, weeps as she arrives to identify the body of her daughter in Dhaka today after she was killed by ISIS

Kabir died alongside Faraaz Hossain (right) who was originally from Bangladesh but had also been studying at Emory University, attending the college's business school

Hossain (center) had studied at Emory's Oxford campus, the same one attended by Kabir, then joined the business school after graduating

Kabir, a sophomore at Emory's Oxford campus, was an American citizen, while Hossain was born in Bangladesh and Jain was of Indian origin.

A spokesman said: 'Emory University has learned that two Emory students, Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain, were among those taken hostage and murdered by terrorists yesterday in the attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

'Abinta, who was from Miami, was a rising sophomore at Emory's Oxford College.

'Faraaz, who was from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university's Goizueta Business School.

'The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family.

'Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time.'

Meanwhile UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks issued a statement on Jain's death, saying: 'We have been in contact with her family to provide assistance in any way that we can and are working closely with our other students there to assist them in staying safe and determining whether they leave the area.

'On behalf of our entire campus, we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends and to all the other families who have suffered such a devastating loss.'

A graduate of the American International School in Dhaka, Jain came to UC Berkeley in 2014 and was intending to major in economics.

Jain and seven other students were completing internships with UC Berkeley's Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies, according to statement from the university.

According to witnesses a group of seven Islamist radicals stormed the cafe yesterday evening armed with assault weapons, pistols and 'sharp objects' before taking more than 30 people hostage.

Tarushi Jain, 19, an Indian native who was studying at University of California, Berkeley, has also been identified among the dead

Sushma Swaraj, India's minister of external affairs, confirmed Jain's death today. She is believed to have been on holiday to Bangladesh at the time of the attack, where her father owns a textiles business

Gruesome: This is one of the images that was released by ISIS' media agency Amar, purportedly showing victims inside the Dhaka restaurant which was taken siege by Islamist militants on Friday night

Witnesses said that ISIS attackers split the group inside the cafe, keeping Bangladeshis downstairs where they were fed and looked after, but taking foreigners upstairs where they were tortured

ISIS has also released images purporting to show four of the attackers online, though has not revealed their identities

The terror group's media arm released images of the grinning gunmen along with a message saying: 'Let the people of the crusader countries know that there is no safety for them as long as their aircraft are killing Muslims'

The terrorists then hacked 20 people to death, sparing only those who could recite the Koran, before engaging police in a 12-hour standoff.

The cafe was eventually stormed by elite Bangladeshi commandos who killed the attackers and freed the remaining hostages.

Among those killed are nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, two Bangladeshi, and an American citizen of Bangladeshi origin.

The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the dead as: Adele Puglisi, Marco Tondat, Claudia Maria D'Antona, Nadia Benedetti, Vincenzo D'Allestro, Maria Rivoli, Cristian Rossi, Claudio Cappelli, and Simona Monti.

Most of the Italian victims were understood to work in the fashion industry, buying fabrics from Bangladesh.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that five men and two women died worked for the country's foreign aid agency and said they 'were giving their all for the development of Bangladesh'.

All the attackers were from Bangladesh, Police Inspector General Shahidul Hoque told CNN, as ISIS released their grinning pictures online

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed declared two days of mourning for the victims to take place on Sunday and Monday.

She also thanked all those who had expressed their solidarity with Bangladesh, and vowed that terrorism would be exterminated at all costs.

She added: 'Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such act. They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism.'

Army Brigadier General Naim Asraf Chowdhury said: 'Most of (the hostages) were killed mercilessly by sharp weapons last night.'

On Friday night, Bangladeshi resident Hasnat Karim said he brought his family to the cafe in order to celebrate his daughter's birthday.

Hasnat was too traumatised to say more than a few words about his ordeal, saying only that the hostage-takers 'did not misbehave with us'.

But he detailed to his father Rezaul how the gunmen - who were armed with automatic weapons, bombs and makeshift machetes - had split the diners into two groups.

Rezaul said: '(The foreigners) were taken to the upper floor and the Bangladeshis were kept around a table.'

He said his son told him the terrorists 'did not hit people who could recite verses from the Koran. The others were tortured'.

He added: 'The gunmen asked everyone inside to recite from the Koran. Those who recited were spared. The gunmen even gave them meals last night.'

Elite Bangladeshi commandos stormed the building after siege of more than 12 hours, freeing some 13 hostages, in addition to another eight who manged to flee during the siege. Six of the terrorists were shot dead and one was arrested at the scene.

The ISIS media wing has claimed responsibility for the attack which was launched on the final Friday of Ramadan, as millions of Muslims prepare to celebrate the Eid holiday. The final ten days of Ramadan are the most solemn in the Islamic calendar.

Amaq News Agency, ISIS's media wing, claimed responsibility for the attack while releasing a gruesome series of images online purporting to show victims inside the cafe.

Distraught relatives of those killed covered their faces as they were taken to identify the bodies of their loves ones following the attack

Meanwhile members of the military and police remained on the streets in force today in the hopes of preventing another attack

Armed police officers and soldiers took up positions around the cafe today as Dhaka remained on edge following the attack yesterday

Armored troop carriers rolled through Dhaka's streets today as the military took a no-nonsense approach to preventing more attacks

Troops took up strategic positions across Dhaka to discourage any further terrorist attacks

Two marksmen stood holding their high-powered Dragunov sniper rifles after last night's rescue mission

Meanwhile in Kolkata, India, demonstrators held a candlelit vigil for the victims of Dhaka, demanding an end to terrorist violence

It is thought that at least some of the victims of the Bangladesh attack were Indian, including student Tarushi Jain

The pictures show a number of bodies piled together next to a table still covered with plates of half-eaten food, while in others bodies lie in twisted shapes on floors that are covered in blood.

Two police officers were killed, including a local police station chief, Mohammed Salahuddin, who was earlier injured in the shoot-out.

According to a local photojournalist, Mr Salahuddin was asked by his colleagues not to cross the cordon as he was not wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Just moments after he crossed the line, according to the Daily Star in Dhaka, he was shot.

A second policeman, Robiul Islam, assistant commissioner of Uttara zone Detective Branch, has also died in the shooting, top police officials confirmed.

Another 25 officers and one civilian are being treated for injuries from gunshots and shrapnel, with 10 people in a critical condition, according to hospital authorities.

Speaking after the raid, Lieutenant Colonel Tuhin Mohammed Masud, commander of the Rapid Action Battalion said: 'We have gunned down at least six terrorists and the main building is cleared but the operation is still going on.'

A Japanese government spokesman said that a Japanese hostage was rescued with a gunshot wound but seven others are unaccounted for.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said that the eight were together at the restaurant at the time of the attack.

Kitchen staffer Sumon Reza, who escaped, said the attackers chanted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) as they assaulted around 9:20 p.m. Friday, initially opening fire with blanks.

Another survivor said the gunmen ordered bakery workers to switch off the lights in the restaurant. The militants then covered close-circuit cameras with black cloth.

The bakery worker, who was not identified, told ATN News, a Bangladesh television channel, that when the first attacker entered the gate he thought it was someone taking shelter in the restaurant's doorway.

'Then I saw that he had weapons. On seeing that, I ran toward the back of the restaurant. He fired while I was running but I was not sure if he was targeting me because I did not look back,' the survivor said.

An injured policeman is carried away after the attack in Dhaka on Friday night

Police have stormed a restaurant after being locked in a shoot-out with gunmen at a restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, that is popular with foreigners

Casualties were evacuated from the scene in the back of army trucks and ambulance

People help an unidentified injured person after a group of gunmen attacked a restaurant popular with foreigners in a diplomatic zone of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka

A staff member who managed to escape said the gunmen shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as they attacked the restaurant, shooting and throwing bombs

He said he ran and told everyone working inside the bakery, and many people ran out using the back door.

'Those who could not hear me, or understand me, did not leave because this happened in a short span of time,' he said.

ISIS claimed 24 people had been killed and a further 40 were wounded in the attack. Images of the carnage were distributed on social media channels with links to the jihadi terror organisation.

Bangladeshi officials have said 20 have died with a number of others in a critical condition in hospital.

Hospital staff dealing with casualties said of the 26 people they are currently treating, ten are in a critical condition with six on life support. Victims suffered broken bones and gunshot wounds.

In Washington, a White House official said President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by his chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco. The president asked to be kept informed as the situation develops, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the president's meetings.

State Department spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. is in contact with the Bangladesh government and has offered its assistance to bring those responsible to justice.

The recent attacks in Bangladesh have raised fears that religious extremists are gaining a foothold in the country, despite its traditions of secularism and tolerance.

About two dozen atheist writers, publishers, members of religious minorities, social activists and foreign aid workers have been slain since 2013. On Friday, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death by at least three assailants in southwest Bangladesh. IS and and al-Qaida affiliates have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.

Hasina's government has cracked down on domestic radical Islamists by making scores of arrests. It has accused local terrorists and opposition political parties - especially the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami - of orchestrating the violence in order to destabilize the nation, which both parties deny.

Victims: Police officers Mohammed Salahuddin (right) and Robiul Islam (left) have been named as the two reported fatalities in the hostage situation in Dhaka, according to local news site The Daily Star

A police officer assists an injured colleague outside the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe, currently under a hostage siege by armed gunmen

Two police officers injured earlier in the shoot-out have been confirmed dead, according to local media reports

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have surrounded the Spanish restaurant, as communications are believed to be underway in an attempt to save their lives of those inside

Bangladeshi security personnel stand guard after gunmen stormed a restaurant in Dhaka's high-security diplomatic district