July 2016 Dhaka attack

Operation Thunderbolt 2016
Part of Terrorism in Bangladesh

Location of the attack within Dhaka
Date1–2 July 2016
Location
Holey Artisan Bakery
Road No 79, House 5, Gulshan 2
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
23°48′09″N 90°25′00″E / 23.8025°N 90.4167°E / 23.8025; 90.4167
Result Bangladeshi victory, execution of terrorists
Belligerents
 Bangladesh  Islamic State
Units involved

Bangladesh Armed Forces

Casualties and losses
2 police officers killed, 40+ wounded 5[1]
22 civilians killed[1]
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On the night of 1 July 2016, at 21:20 local time,[2] five militants took hostages and opened fire on the Holey Artisan Bakery[3] in Gulshan Thana jurisdiction in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[4] The assailants entered the bakery with crude bombs, machetes, pistols, and took several dozen hostages (foreigners and locals). In the immediate response, while Dhaka Metropolitan Police tried to regain control of the bakery, two police officers were shot dead by the assailants.[5]

29 people were killed, including 20 hostages (17 foreigners and 3 locals), two police officers, five gunmen, and two bakery staff.[6][7] As the police were unsuccessful in breaching the bakery and securing the hostages, they set up a perimeter along with the Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh. Very early on 2 July (around 03:00), it was decided that the Bangladesh Armed Forces would launch a counter-assault named Operation Thunderbolt.[8] The assault was led by the 1st Para-commando Battalion, an elite force in the Bangladesh Army under the leadership of operational commander Brigadier General Mujibur Rahman, and began their raid at 07:40.[9] According to Bangladesh's Inspector General of Police, all[1] of the attackers were Bangladeshi citizens.[10] Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the incident and released photographs of the gunmen, but the Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, stated that the perpetrators belonged to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and were not affiliated with ISIL.

The incident was described by BBC News as the "deadliest Islamist attack in Bangladeshi history."[11] The local media described it as 7/16.[12]

  1. ^ a b c "Bangladesh attack: Police say hostage mistaken for gunman". BBC News. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Gunmen take hostages in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka". BBC News. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. ^ অভিযানে নিহতদের মধ্যে 'জঙ্গি ৫ জন'. bdnews24.com (in Bengali). 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Hostages taken in attack on restaurant in Bangladesh capital; witness says gunmen shouted 'Allahu Akbar'". Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. ^ Rome, Saad Hammadi Rosie Scammell in; York, and Alan Yuhas in New (3 July 2016). "Dhaka cafe attack ends with 20 hostages among dead". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Hostage crisis leaves 28 dead in Bangladesh diplomatic zone". The Washington Post. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016.
  7. ^ Marszal, Andrew; Graham, Chris (2 July 2016). "20 foreigners killed in 'Isil' attack on Dhaka restaurant". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Police kill 6 militants, rescue 13 hostages in Dhaka attack". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Bangladesh Attack Is New Evidence That ISIS Has Shifted Its Focus Beyond the Mideast". The New York Times. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Gulshan attackers Bangladeshi citizens: IGP". The Daily Star. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Holey Artisan cafe: Bangladesh Islamists sentenced to death for 2016 attack". BBC News. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022. The 12-hour siege was Bangladesh's deadliest Islamist attack. Most of the victims were Italian or Japanese.
  12. ^ "Bangladesh's 7/16 Archived 5 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Daily Star (Dhaka, Bangladesh). 3 July 2016.