Bangladesh released first names of attackers - Akash, Badhon, Bikash, Don, Ripon - who were all from 'rich families'

Terrorists killed 20 people who failed to recite the Koran before they took another 13 hostage in Bangladeshi capital

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


One of the American students killed in the Dhaka terror attack made a final, haunting phone call to her father moments before she was killed in the toilets where she hid with her two friends.

Tarishi Jain, 19, was one of three US students and 20 people in total to be hacked to death in the Holey Artisan Bakery in an upmarket district of the Bangladeshi capital.

With gunfire in her ears and sheer panic in her voice, she called her father to say: 'I am very afraid... I'm not sure whether I will be able to come out alive.'

'They are killing everyone here... I think we will be killed one by one,' she added in the heart-breaking call, made just before 6am in the morning as round after round of gunfire rang out just outside the toilet doors.

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Tarushi Jain (left and right in right-hand photo), 19, an Indian native who was studying at University of California, Berkeley, made a final phone call to her father before she was killed

Today, hundreds laid flowers and lit candles to pay tribute to the 20 killed at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tarishi Jain, 19, was one of three US students and 20 people in total to be gunned down in the Holey Artisan Bakery in an upmarket district of the Bangladeshi capital

Bangladeshi authorities later confirmed that Tarishi, who was studying Economics at the University of California, was killed alongside fellow US collegiates Abinta Kabir, 18, and Faraaz Hossain

Bangladeshi authorities later confirmed that Tarishi, who was studying Economics at the University of California, was killed alongside fellow US collegiates Abinta Kabir, 18, and Faraaz Hossain, who were both enrolled at the Emory University in Georgia.

They would often hang out at the Holey Artisan Bakery, famed for its bagels, croissants and coffee, the India Times reported.

Witnesses told of how seven Islamist terrorists stormed the cafe armed with assault weapons, pistols and sharp objects before taking more than 30 people hostage.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, releasing photos of the grinning killers, but Bangladeshi authorities have denied the despotic terror group was responsible for the attack.

Authorities today released the first names of the five attackers - Akash, Badhon, Bikash, Don and Ripon - who are all said to come from 'rich' Bangladeshi families.

'They are all Bangladeshis. They are from rich families, they have good educational background,' the country's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.

He said the men were part of a homegrown Sunni Muslim terror group known as of Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh and their motive is as yet unknown.

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 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

It emerged today that Bangladesh's police had previously tried and failed to arrest five of the militants who hacked 20 people to death - sparing only those who could recite the Koran.

As investigators try to confirm any possible links they may have had to international extremest groups, it was revealed that five of them were already 'listed as militants' and that law enforcers had tried to arrest them before.

They killed nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian, an American and two local men before elite commandos ended the 12-hour standoff by raiding the bakery, shooting six terrorists and arresting one.

It has since been claimed that Tarishi was one of the hostages who may have been tortured before she was killed. 'That was apparent from the injuries,' an unnamed source told the Indian Express.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared two days of national mourning after the massacre in the upmarket Gulshan district of the city.

In a statement made on national TV, she said: 'It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion.'

Emory sophomore Kabir, was from Miami, Florida, while Hossain was born in Bangladesh and Jain was of Indian origin.

The terrorists hacked 20 people to death inside the bakery (pictured), sparing only those who could recite the Koran, before engaging police in a 12-hour standoff

Witnesses told of how seven Islamist terrorists stormed the cafe armed with assault weapons, pistols and sharp objects (pictured, an emotional woman paying her respects to the victims today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that five men and two women died worked for the country's foreign aid agency

A university 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.

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

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

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

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

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

The Italian foreign ministry confirmed its dead countrymen 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.

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'

Hasnat was too traumatized 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.

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

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.

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.

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

The attack is reported to have broken out at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the upmarket area of Gulshan, Dhaka

State Department spokesman John Kirby says the US. 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.

Around two dozen atheist writers, publishers, members of religious minorities, social activists and foreign aid workers have been slain since 2013.