Bangladesh commemorates 3rd anniversary of Dhaka cafe attack

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Monday vowed that those involved in an attack on a popular cafe in Dhaka will be punished soon as it marked the 3rdanniversaryof the country's worst terror attack that killed 22 people, including an Indian girl in 2016.
Eighteen foreigners were among those shot and hacked to death in the 10-hour siege that began on July 1, 2016 at the Holey Artisan Bakery, an upmarket cafe in Dhaka, before military commandos stormed the building and freed some two dozen hostages.
Memorials were held to commemorate the 3rdanniversaryof the worst terrorist attack and as the bereaved mourned their profound loss, authorities on Monday affirmed that those who were involved in the attack will be punished, The Dhaka Tribune reported.
"Some of the new JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) members died during the raid and we have arrested the rest of them. They are on trial now and will soon be punished. Only then will the families of the victims have some peace," Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Chief Monirul Islam, said on Monday.
"We are putting all our efforts to prevent anything like this happen ever again," he said.
Twenty-two people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were also killed in the clash, seventeen of whom were foreign nationals.
Investigators said a total of 21 militants were involved in planning the assault but 13 of them were killed in subsequent anti-terrorism operations by security forces.
Five militants directly carried out the attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan diplomatic enclave. All of them were killed on the morning of July 2 in a military commando raid at the site.
The attack prompted the Bangladesh government to launch a massive anti-militancy operation.
According to the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, those convicted under the law may be given death sentences.