Anxious wait for families of Holey Artisan hostages

Panic could be clearly seen in all of their faces as they waited for the rescue of their dear ones held hostage inside the hitherto quiet dining place in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone.

To many of them, every minute appeared longer than an hour. And for the victims taken hostage by eight to 10 gunmen inside the two-storied Holey Artisan Bakery, it’s anyone’s guess.

After the news spread, relatives of the victims gathered near the restaurant.

Tahmid Habib Khan, 22, who returned from Canada on Friday morning, went to the restaurant with his friends in the evening after having iftar (food to break fasting).

He has no mobile phone with him and there has not been any update of him since the hostage crisis began around 8:45pm, Tahmid's father Fazle Rahim Khan told The Daily Star.

According to diplomatic sources, there may be 20 to 30 people who are being held hostage now.

Meanwhile, two of the hostages, an Argentine and a Bangladeshi citizen, have been claimed to be rescued by law enforcers.

The assailants, armed with pistols, swords and bombs, entered Holey Artisan Bakery, a Spanish restaurant on Road 79 in Gulshan 2 area of Dhaka on Friday evening and took the chef of the restaurant hostage, Sumon Reza, a kitchen staff who managed to escape, told The Daily Star.

Two police officers were killed and at least 30 people including police officials were injured as law enforcers tried to smoke out gunmen who took a number of people, including foreigners, hostages inside the restaurant in Gulshan diplomatic zone of the capital.

US-based SITE Intelligence Group quoted Amaq News Agency of global terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) that ISIS fighters carried out the attack. The Daily Star could not verify the claim independently.