Khaleda calls for all-party response to crush extremism

Condemning the terror attack on a restaurant popular among foreigners in Dhaka, Bangladesh opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Saturday asked the government to initiate an all-party effort to crush "extremist forces".

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson thanked the security forces for neutralising the attack, the first of its kind in Bangladesh where foreigners were held hostage, bdnews24.com reported.

Khaleda described the terrorist attack by gunmen at the Gulshan eatery, in which Islamic State terrorists killed 20 hostages, as "blind violence and animal cruelty".

Seven gunmen barged into the Holey Artisan Bakery at the Gulshan diplomatic zone around 8.45 p.m. on Friday and took the guests inside hostage.

The attackers shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) on their way in and started firing before taking the guests inside hostage.

The hostage standoff ended almost 12 hours later after army commandos initiated "Operation Thunderbolt" on Saturday to free the hostages.

The army said that they rescued 13 hostages and found bodies of 20 foreigners inside the restaurant, who they said were slaughtered with sharp weapons late on Friday, hours before security forces moved in.

It also said that one of the seven gunmen was captured alive while the rest were killed.

--IANS

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