Bangladesh Cafe Attack: Police Kill ‘Mastermind’ In Raid Near Dhaka

Bangladesh police raided a militant hideout in Narayanganj, less than 20 miles south of the capital city of Dhaka, killing the "mastermind" of the July cafe attack Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, who is a Canandian-Bangladeshi, and 2 other suspected militants.

On the night of July 1, five armed gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, killing 20 people and holding others hostage. The following day, security forces carried out an operation killing the gunmen and rescuing 13 hostages. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, three Bangladeshis and one Indian were among those killed.

“Tamim Chowdhury is dead,” BBC reported the Bangladesh Counterterrorism Unit’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain as saying.

Chowdhury had been identified by police as the mastermind of the attack and police announced a reward of over $25,000 for information that could lead to his arrest earlier this month.

Hossain told local news portal bdnews24.com that the gunfight broke out early Saturday when police started raiding a building at Narayanganj’s Paikpara locality.

According to the report, information from an arrested operative of the banned group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) — of whom intelligence officials say Tamim is a leader — led to the raid.

The 30-year-old has been missing from Canada, where his father Shafi Ahmed Chowdhury immigrated to in the early 1970s, since 2013.