Search for 5 terrorists halts Dhaka cafe attack investigation

The terror siege of Holey Artisan bakery here ended with the killing of five gunmen, but the police say they need to catch five more terrorists before the investigation is complete.

"We are still looking for five suspects whose names came up in our investigation. The investigation can be completed if we manage to catch two or three among them," said head of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's counter-terror unit Monirul Islam on Friday.

Of the five, capturing Soheil Mahfuz, Rashedul Islam aka 'Rash' and Basharuzzaman aka 'Chocolate' was vital. "Finding them may end our investigation," bdnews24 quoted Monirul as saying.

A year has passed since Islamist militants launched a foreigner-targeted attack in Dhaka's diplomatic district, killing 20 including 17 foreign nationals.

The five killers, who shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and took religious tests to seek out foreigners, were shot dead by commandos the next morning, along with a bakery chef who remains a suspect.

"Never before have so many foreigners died together in Bangladesh. This attack was important for us the way the fall of the Twin Towers was important to the US," said Monirul.

"The operations we conducted in the last one year have eliminated eight individuals who were involved in the planning of the attack. We'd have charged them had they been alive," said the counter-terror chief.

Of the four men in prison, three have confessed to being involved, he said.

--IANS

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