Police officers Rabiul Islam and Salauddin Khan, who were injured during standoff with gunmen last evening, died of splinter injuries, doctors said.

Islam, assistant commissioner of the Detective Branch of Police, and Khan, officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station, bled excessively after the attack, said Dr Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor of forensic and medicine department of Dhaka Medical College who conducted autopsies of the two victims.

Splinters hit Rabiul in his right chest while Salauddin suffered splinter injuries in his throat, the doctor said.

In an unprecedented turn of events last night, gunmen held hostage dozens of people inside a popular hangout for foreigners, Holey Artisan Bakery, in Dhaka's diplomatic zone of Gulshan, and fired shots and hurled bombs at law enforcers, leaving the two cops dead instantly.

Officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station, Salahuddin Khan. Photo: Courtesy

After almost 12 hours of the attack, army commandoes brought to end the unprecedented hostage situation, rescuing at least 13 people.

Later, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) at a briefing confirmed that gunmen killed 20 people, mostly with sharp weapons, shortly after taking hostage a number of diners at the café.