Bangladesh mourns Dhaka restaurant attack victims

Bangladesh police have said security forces may have mistakenly shot dead a hostage during the Dhaka restaurant attack, believing he was an attacker.

Saiful Islam, a senior police official in Dhaka, said Saiful Islam Chowkidar, a pizza maker at the Holey Artisan restaurant, was among six men who were killed when officers stormed the eatery to end a 12-hour siege.

Twenty people, mostly foreigners, were killed when militants attacked the popular restaurant in the capital city on Friday night.

During the attack, which has been claimed by the so-called Islamic State militant group, several gunmen took a number of hostages, and reportedly tortured and killed those who could not recite verses from the Qu'ran.

Thirteen hostages were saved after police launched a rescue operation.

• Police had tried to arrest five of cafe gunmen before attack

Authorities in Bangladesh had previously tried to arrest five of the gunmen involved in the Dhaka cafe attack.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Shahidur Rahman said that the attackers were mostly educated and from well-off families.

The 12 hour siege ended with police killing six of the gunmen. A seventh man was arrested, but authorities said that he is only a suspect and they are not sure of his role in the attack.

Bangladesh's home minister has denied that so-called Islamic State had any role in the deadly cafe attack.

Asaduzzaman Khan also dismissed the involvement of al Qaeda, saying that the gunmen were home-grown militants.

Mr Khan added that the gunmen in the attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery had made no demands when police had asked their intentions.

Three of the six gunmen killed were under the age of 22, he said, and added that they had been missing for six months.

Hostages in the Bangladesh cafe who were unable to recite verses from the Qu'ran were reportedly tortured and killed, while those who could were spared.

The 10-hour siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the country's capital Dhaka, ended with 20 hostages and two Bangladeshi police officers dead. Six of the attackers were also killed.

Those who could not recite from the Qu'ran "were tortured", Mr Karim added.

Authorities are currently interrogating one of the attackers who was captured by commandos during the rescue.

The White House has confirmed that a US citizen was among the 20 hostages killed in an attack on a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

So-called Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack.

So-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on a Bangladesh cafe, saying it was targeting the citizens of "crusader countries".

The statement was circulated by supporters of the extremist group following the attack in the country's capital, Dhaka, which left 20 dead.

It is not yet clear if the leadership of so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was involved in the planning of the attack. The group has previously claimed attacks carried out by so-called lone wolf attackers with no known connection to the group.

The Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack on a cafe in the capital Dhaka, the Associated Press reports.

The group said it targeted foreigners in the attack, reports say.

Bangladesh will stand up and fight the "terror threat" that has mushroomed in its backyard, the country's prime minister has said.

In a live television broadcast, Sheikh Hasina said the country stood "committed and determined" to uphold its freedom, and announced two days of national mourning in the wake of a deadly Islamist militant attack on an upmarket restaurant in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

Seven Japanese are among the dead in the Bangladesh cafe siege.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary YoshihideSuga confirmed that five men and two women had been killed.