A group of up to nine attackers took hostages inside a restaurant frequented by both locals and foreigners in a diplomatic zone in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka, local media report.
Bangladesh TV stations reported that the attackers entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan area around 9:20 p.m. Friday and were holding customers and staff hostage.
The TV reports said the identities of the attackers were not immediately known.
A huge contingent of security guards cordoned off the area and the restaurant as they traded gunfire with the attackers, who set off explosions, reports say. Three policemen were wounded.
Quoting a kitchen staff worker at the restaurant who escaped the attack, Jamuna Television reported that the gunmen chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God Is Great) as they launched the attack.
Another witness who lived nearby said he could hear gunfire and that the situation “looked quite bad.”
The location of the Holey Artisan bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh is shown. (Google Maps)
A series of deadly attacks, mostly using machetes rather than guns, have targeted bloggers, atheists and religious minorities in Bangladesh in recent months.
Global Affairs Canada released a statement Friday saying it was “closely monitoring” reports of the shooting and hostage-taking.
“The Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa and the High Commission of Canada in Dhaka are endeavouring to determine if Canadian citizens have been affected,” a spokesperson said.
The department asked Canadian citizens in Bangladesh requiring assistance to contact the High Commission in Dhaka.