Blood samples of Dhaka cafe attackers handed over to FBI

Bangladesh has handed over blood samples of the Gulshan cafe terror attackers to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for testing, police here said on Friday.

The samples were handed over on Friday morning, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.

The doctors collected hair and blood samples from the bodies of the six men who laid siege to the cafe to ascertain whether they had been under the influence of drugs during the attack on the cafe, the Daily Star reported.

A forensic team of Dhaka Medical College Hospital collected the samples on request of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The move came amid media reports that militants, especially members of the Islamic State, are known to be popping addictive pills which help "fuel their fury" before carrying out terror attacks.

The six terrorists, who were shot dead on July 2 by security forces, include the cafe's pizza chef Saiful Islam, who investigators say was one of the attackers. His family has claimed he was innocent, the Daily Star reported.

Blood samples of the family members of the six men were also collected on Wednesday at the lab of the Criminal Investigation Department in the capital.

On July 1, terrorists stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the high security diplomatic zone in Gulshan, killing 20 hostages, mostly foreigners and including an Indian woman. Two police officials were also killed.