Cops hunt fiends behind Dhaka slaughter
Bangladeshi security officers searched Sunday for evidence that would lead them to the masterminds of the weekend’s hostage siege that left 20 people, including three Americans, dead in a restaurant in the capital of Dhaka.
The killers were members of the banned domestic group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, and their families hadn’t heard from them in months, according to police.
All had been tagged as militants by the Bangladeshi government, according to police, who on Sunday released their first names: Akash, Badhon, Bikash, Don and Ripon.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack and has released photos of the men it said were among the attackers, but Bangladeshi officials have denied that ISIS had any involvement.
“We don’t have any clue that they have any kind of connection with [Islamic State] or al Qaeda,” said Shamim Ahmed, a spokesman for the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington.
He vowed that “the government will find out the roots behind this attack.”
The 11-hour siege at the restau- rant ended when police stormed the building early Saturday.
Ahmed told The Post that investigators were grilling the lone surviving jihadist, who, along with the others, used guns and sharp objects to kill the hostages inside the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe Friday, sparing those who could recite verses from the Koran, and slaughtering those who could not.
Later Saturday, Bangladeshi police arrested at least three suspects in the attack.
The country on Sunday was in its first of two days of national mourning for the victims.