'Holey Artisan attack was a bid to draw IS’s attention'

Home-grown terrorists carried out the attack on Holey Artisan cafe killing more than 22 people, mostly foreigners, in a bid to draw attention of the Islamic State, the court said on Wednesday (Nov 27) in its verdict over the 2016 attack.
The anti-terrorism tribunal in Dhaka has awarded the death penalty for the seven living suspects in the worst terror attack Bangladesh suffered in one of the most secured areas in capital. One of the eight accused has been acquitted.
The Jul 1 attack on the eatery popular with foreigners in Dhaka's diplomatic area of Gulshan shocked the nation of 160 million and unnerved businesses, including the vital garment exports sector, and foreign investors.
“Members of Neo-JMB, a breakaway group of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), caused the monstrous killings at Gulshan Holey Artisan Bakery to endanger public safety and draw attention of international militant outfit IS,” state news agency BSS quoted the court saying in its observation.
It said that Canadian-Bangladeshi Tamim Chowdhury, who was killed in a raid by counter terror unit of the Dhaka metro police in August 2016, masterminded the attack.
“That was a shocking outcome of fury, cruelty and brutality of militancy. They carried out the killings in front of the children. They kept hacking the lifeless bodies of the innocent victims to make sure their death. They turned the Holey Artisan Bakery in a death zone in a moment,” the court added.
The court further said that the militants attempted to tarnish the image of non-communal Bangladesh, which is known for its peace and communal harmony, according to the BSS report.
“That’s why the accused don’t deserve any mercy or sympathy in sentencing … By giving them maximum punishment under section 6 (2) (a) of Anti-Terrorism Act-2009 can only ensure proper justice and give little comfort to the relatives of the victims,” it said.
Five young militants, armed with guns, sharp weapons and grenades stormed the Holey Artisan cafe, took diners hostage and killed them over 12 hours. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among the dead. The attackers were also killed in a rescue bid by army commandos the next morning.
The assault was claimed by Islamic State but Bangladesh has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant groups like al Qaeda or Islamic State, blaming domestic militants instead.
Investigators said a faction of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack.
After the cafe siege, police raided suspected hideouts and killed dozens of militants believed to have helped mount the attack. Hundreds more were arrested.
In the year before the atrocity, Bangladesh saw a string of grisly individual murders, including of secular writers and foreigners.