Bangladesh to pay homage to Holey Artisan attack victims Saturday

Bangladesh will on Saturday remember the victims , mostly Japanese and Italians, of the militant attack on Holey Artisan café in Dhaka’s posh Gulshan area seven years ago, reports UNB.

During the 12-hour siege of the café the militants held dozens of people hostage and killed 22 of them, including 17 foreigners and two policemen. At least 50 people were seriously injured in the deadliest ever militant attack in the country.

Those killed included nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladesh-born American and two Bangladeshis.

On the night of 1 July 2016 five armed men stormed the café, frequented mostly by foreigners and took the diners there as hostage. At one stage they started killing some of the hostages one by one. Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government of Bangladesh vehemently denied any presence of the organisation in the country.

Bangladesh authorities responded with a brutal crackdown on the militants after the gruesome attack.

On 27 November 2019 a special anti-terrorism tribunal sentenced seven people to death for their involvement in the attack. One was acquitted.