Story highlights Two police officers also killed, military says 
 
 Cafe worker says some employees jumped from the roof 
 
 Attack comes as the holy month of Ramadan nears its end 
 
 Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) All the attackers in the deadly assault on a cafe in Dhaka were Bangladeshi citizens, and five of them were militants that police had tried to arrest previously, Police Inspector General Shahidul Hoque told CNN Saturday. 
 
 Authorities also released the nationalities of the 20 hostages who were found dead inside the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe after Bangladeshi troops stormed the cafe early Saturday morning, ending a nearly 11-hour siege. 
 
 Nine of the victims were Italian, seven were Japanese, one was from India, two were Bangladeshi and one was a U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi origin, according to the country's Joint Force Command. Eleven of the victims were male and nine were female. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Report: Commandos storm Dhaka restaurant Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Report: Commandos storm Dhaka restaurant 01:35 
 
 Two police officers had been killed in a gunfire exchange earlier in the standoff, authorities said. 
 
 The attack in the affluent, diplomatic enclave was the deadliest and boldest act of terror in a country that has become increasingly numb to ever-escalating violence by Islamist militants. 
 
 Read More 
 
 The victims were among roughly three dozen people taken hostage when attackers stormed the cafe Friday evening with guns, explosives and sharp weapons, authorities said. Some guests and workers managed to escape, jumping from the bakery's roof. Others crouched under chairs and tables as the gunmen fired indiscriminately, witnesses said. Early Saturday morning, military commandos moved in. By the end, 13 people had been rescued and 20 were dead, officials said. Six terrorists were killed and one was captured alive, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Saturday. ISIS claims attack ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through its media branch, Amaq. Initially, a U.S. official told CNN it was more likely that al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent conducted this attack because it had demonstrated a more capable presence in Dhaka through attacks over the past few months. But after photos purportedly showing the inside of the cafe and dead hostages were posted on an ISIS-affiliated website, U.S. officials said they are now focused on ISIS as the perpetrator. JUST WATCHED Bangladeshi army: 'Sharp weapons' used to kill hostages Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Bangladeshi army: 'Sharp weapons' used to kill hostages 01:55 The photos were posted on Amaq while the siege was ongoing, with a claim that the extremely graphic images were of foreigners killed by terrorists in the attack. The fact that the images were posted approximately 90 minutes before Bangladeshi forces stormed the restaurant suggest that several hostages had already been killed before the commandos moved in. While CNN can't verify the authenticity of the photos, the images show wall murals, glossy tables with carved legs, white chairs and other items very similar to those seen on the cafe website. These photos don't prove that ISIS had operational control of the attack, but the website also displayed the photos and noms de guerre of five individuals, claiming they carried it out. Majority of dead had ties to the United States,Japan and Italy Hasina declared two days of mourning for the victims of the massacre, a period that begins Sunday. Abinta Kabir One of the dead was an American citizen, authorities said, but it was unclear if that victim was one of three students from universities in the United States. Two of them attended Georgia's Emory University, including Abinta Kabir of Miami, who was a sophomore at Emory's campus in Oxford, Georgia. She was in Dhaka visiting family and friends, the school said. The other was Faraaz Hossain, of Dhaka, a junior who was to attend Emory's Goizueta Business School in Atlanta. "The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time," a statement from the university said. The third student was Indian citizen Tarishi Jain, 19, who was studying at the University of California at Berkeley, according to India's minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj. Italy's foreign ministry named the country's victims as Adele Puglisi, Marco Tondat, Claudia Maria D'Antona, Nadia Benedetti, Vincenzo D'Allestro, Maria Rivoli, Cristian Rossi, Claudio Cappelli and Simona Monti. Japan announced Saturday that seven of its nationals are confirmed dead. The victims were corporate employees having dinner with management consultant Tamaoki Watanabe, one of the survivors, said Japanese Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga. Watanabe and three other Almec VPI employees were on a project for Japan International Corporation Agency, a government-funded organization for international development and cooperation, according to an Almec statement. The company does not yet know the fate of the other three employees, according to the statement. The Japanese government, which is not disclosing names at this point, said it would arrange a government flight for the families of victims as early as Sunday. Japan has sent Vice Foreign Minister Seiji Kihara, along with a team of terrorism experts, to Dhaka. Two Sri Lankans were among the hostages rescued, officials said. Hasini said she would form anti-terrorism committees with the police and the public to help identify potential terrorists and plots. She urged the public -- and especially parents -- to combat religious extremism by teaching children and the misguided to do "the right thing." "For those vulnerable and young people who are being misguided, and those that are aiding them, I have one question," Hasini said. "What do you hope to achieve by killing innocent people? Islam is a religion of peace. End your killing in the name of Islam. Don't malign our holy religion." Workers jump from roof Witnesses described chaotic scenes when the gunmen burst into the cafe. Cafe worker Shumon Reza said he saw six to eight gunmen enter the bakery. He escaped as they came in. "The guests were all lying on the ground under the chairs and tables," Reza told Boishakhi TV. And we (the employees) escaped in whichever safe way we could. Some went to the roof, others went to other safe spots." Shortly after, Reza said, the attackers started throwing explosives , one after another. "We thought it wasn't safe anymore and jumped from the roof," he said. CNN Map 
 
 Attack shocks nation 
 
 Even in a country that has become increasingly numb to Islamist attacks, the Holey Artisan Bakery standoff was particularly jolting in its brazenness. 
 
 It was not so much that the attack took place in a public place, in full view of a horrified public. Such public attacks have happened before -- American blogger Avijit Roy was hacked with machetes outside Bangladesh's largest book fair. 
 
 It was the time and the location that revolted many everyday Bangladeshis. 
 
 The gunmen went into the bakery on a Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam, and at a time when the devout would be sitting down to break their fast in the holy month of Ramadan. 
 
 And they targeted not a bar or a club -- the kinds of venues fundamentalist Muslims rail against -- but a bakery. 
 
 Why did it happen at the bakery? 
 
 It's more likely because of the bakery's location: Gulshan. 
 
 Gulshan is one of Dhaka's most affluent neighborhoods. Perhaps more importantly for the attackers, it's a diplomatic enclave. Most of the embassies and high commissions have a presence in Gulshan. 
 
 Residents in the neighborhood expressed shock because the upscale neighborhood was considered safe with buildings behind walls, gated driveways and security guard booths. 
 
 Holey Artisan Bakery had become a popular destination for expats and diplomats, and attackers may have chosen it hoping for maximum global impact. 
 
 "They wanted maximum exposure. They got it," said Sadrul Kabir, a Gulshan resident. 
 
 Bangladesh a new ISIS hotspot? 
 
 Bangladesh authorities have consistently denied an ISIS presence in the country despite previous ISIS claims for past attacks. 
 
 Other attacks have also been claimed by local Islamist groups. 
 
 "We don't want these terrorists in Bangladesh," the Prime Minister said. "This type of situation is a first in Bangladesh, until now they were committing individual murders. But now suddenly they created this type of situation. What they did here was a very heinous act." 
 
 Experts said Bangladesh is a target for terrorists. 
 
 "In the case of ISIS and its connection to international terrorism in Bangladesh, they have mentioned the country several times in Dabiq, their online journal," said Sajjan Gohel, the international security director at the Asia Pacific Foundation. "They talked about the fact that they were going to carry out more attacks, they were going to increase the tempo, and they were calling for volunteers from Bangladesh to join them." 
 
 Home to almost 150 million Muslims, the country had, until recently, avoided the kind of radicalism plaguing others parts of the world. But in the last two years, a wave of murders across Bangladesh have killed secular writers, academics and religious minorities. 
 
 The string of targeted murders has sparked debate about the involvement of ISIS 
 
 In response to growing criticism, the Bangladeshi government launched an anti-militant drive last month, rounding up and arresting hundreds. But many of those detained are believed to be ordinary criminals and not Islamic extremists. ||||| DHAKA, Bangladesh — Twenty foreigners, including a U.S. citizen, were killed by six heavily armed militants at an upscale restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka early Saturday. The hours-long siege was eventually ended by Bangladeshi forces, officials said. 
 
 Sharp weapons were used to kill the victims, with local media reporting that some were beheaded. 
 
 Among those killed were three students with ties to American colleges: Emory University in Georgia, and the University of California, Berkeley. 
 
 People help an unidentified injured person after a group of gunmen attacked a restaurant popular with foreigners in a diplomatic zone of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 1. AP 
 
 Abinta Kabir, a rising sophomore at Emory University's campus in Oxford, Georgia, was killed in the attack, the school said in a statement. Kabir, who lived in Miami, was in Dhaka visiting family and friends. 
 
 The State Department said Saturday that a U.S. citizen was "among those senselessly murdered in this attack," but did not identify the citizen. It was not immediately clear whether it was Kabir. 
 
 A second Emory student also died, the school said. Faraaz Hossain, from Dhaka, graduated from Emory's Oxford College this year and was preparing to start at the university's business school in the fall. 
 
 Photos: Security Forces Respond to Hostage Crisis in Bangladesh 
 
 "The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time," said a post on Emory's Facebook page. 
 
 Another student, 19-year-old Tarushi Jain of India, was also killed, according to tweets from Indian Exterior Minister Sushma Swaraj. Jain, who went to high school at the American International School of Dhaka, had been attending the University of California, Berkeley. 
 
 "I have spoken to her father Shri Sanjeev Jain and conveyed our deepest condolences. The country is with them in this hour of grief," Swaraj tweeted. 
 
 Jain had been in Dhaka for an internship with Eastern Bank Limited since last month, according to UC Berkeley. She planned on majoring in economics in college, the school said. Her father is a textile merchant based in Dhaka. 
 
 I spoke to Tarishi's father and offered him all assistance. We have arranged Visa for family and they are flying tommw. /2 @siddraniwala — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 2, 2016 
 
 Nine Italians were also killed in the attack, Italy's foreign minister said, and one Italian was missing. 
 
 There were also seven Japanese citizens killed, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Saturday. The five men and two women were consultants with the non-governmental Japan International Cooperation Agency. 
 
 “That innocent lives were taken away by this cruel and inhumane act of terrorism, we cannot but feel the strongest of indignation. Whatever the reason, terrorism cannot be forgiven and we firmly denounce it,” Suga said. 
 
 Related: Gunmen Kill 4 Officers, Take Dozens Hostage in Bangladesh 
 
 Thirteen other foreign captives were rescued by paramilitary forces, who killed all the attackers, Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury told reporters. Some police officers were also killed. 
 
 Gunmen shouting "Allahu Akbar" stormed the popular Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan district on Friday night during the Ramadan holy month. 
 
 ISIS claimed responsibility for the atrocity, according to terror research firms Flashpoint Intelligence and Site Intelligence Group. The Amaq news agency, affiliated with ISIS, also posted photos purportedly showing hostages' bodies. NBC News has not verified the claim. 
 
 The restaurant was popular with foreigners. AP 
 
 The nine Italians killed were named by the Italian foreign ministry as Adele Puglisi; Marco Tondat; Claudia Maria D'Antona; Nadia Benedetti; Vincenzo D'Allestro; Maria Rivoli; Cristian Rossi; Claudio Cappelli; and Simona Monti. 
 
 Gunfire was heard as troops moved to end the standoff more than 10 hours after the attack began. Journalists were not allowed near the scene. 
 
 "We heard gunfire open, it continued for about 10 minutes — very loud, rapid gunfire, multiple explosions," Maimuna Ahmad, who lives near the restaurant, told MSNBC. The gunfire was then sporadic and stopped, she said. Other blasts were later heard, but it was unsure what caused them. ||||| Emory University Statement 
 
 Emory University has learned that two Emory students, Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain, were among those taken hostage and murdered by terrorists yesterday in the attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
 
 Abinta, who was from Miami, was a rising sophomore at Emory’s Oxford College. Faraaz, a junior from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university’s Goizueta Business School. 
 
 The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time. 
 
 In the wake of this terrible loss, the university is offering support to members of our community through counseling services. ||||| Japan International Cooperation Agency President Shinichi Kitaoka listens to reporters questions during a press conference following the incident at a Bangladesh restaurant, in Tokyo, Saturday, July 2,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Japan International Cooperation Agency President Shinichi Kitaoka listens to reporters questions during a press conference following the incident at a Bangladesh restaurant, in Tokyo, Saturday, July 2, 2016. Shinichi Kitaoka said one Japanese hostage has been hospitalized, and the fate of seven others... (Associated Press) 
 
 DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The Latest on the attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in a diplomatic zone in the Bangladeshi capital (all times local): 
 
 9 p.m. 
 
 Emory University says two of its students were among 20 victims of an extremist attack in Bangladesh. 
 
 University president James Wagner said in emails to employees that Faraaz Hossain and Abinta Kabir were killed after militants took hostages at a restaurant in the South Asian nation's capital of Dhaka and engaged in a 10-hour standoff ending Saturday morning. 
 
 Kabir was a student at the school's campus in Oxford. She was visiting family and friends in Bangladesh when she was taken hostage and killed. Hossain had completed his second year at Oxford and was headed to the business school in the fall. 
 
 School spokeswoman Elaine Justice says Kabir was from Miami, Florida, and Hossain was from Dhaka. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:45 p.m. 
 
 Italy's foreign minister says an Italian citizen is unaccounted for after the Dhaka restaurant attack. 
 
 Minister Paolo Gentiloni says Saturday that the person isn't among the bodies identified in a military morgue in Dhaka and isn't among the 20 victims. 
 
 Gentiloni says it is possible the person, whom he didn't identify by name or age, is among the injured or just can't be located. 
 
 The others confirmed dead include nine Italians, seven Japanese and one Indian. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:45 p.m. 
 
 A Japanese government spokesman says that seven Japanese are among those killed in the overnight siege of a restaurant in Bangladesh. 
 
 Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Saturday night in Tokyo that five men and two women who were Japanese had died in the attack. 
 
 They were among eight Japanese nationals eating at the restaurant. One man who had been shot was rescued, and being treated at a hospital. 
 
 The Japanese were consultants working on a Japanese government aid project in Dhaka. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:15 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's Foreign Ministry says it received confirmation from Bangladesh government officials that no South Koreans were among the 20 hostages killed during an attack at a Dhaka restaurant. 
 
 The ministry also said there were no South Koreans among the injured. Italy has confirmed nine Italians died. 
 
 An Indian government official previously said South Koreans were among the dead, as well as Japanese and one Indian woman. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:45 p.m. 
 
 Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni says the bodies of nine Italians have been identified among the dead in the Dhaka restaurant attack. 
 
 Gentiloni told reporters Saturday that there was another, unidentified body in the military morgue of Bangladesh but its nationality hasn't been determined. Italian news reports had said about 10 Italians were inside the restaurant when it was attacked by militants on Friday night. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:30 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's Foreign Ministry says officials from the country's embassy in Bangladesh are in contact with local government authorities to confirm whether there were any South Koreans among the 20 hostages killed during an attack at a Dhaka restaurant. 
 
 The ministry earlier said no South Koreans were among the injured. 
 
 An Indian government official said Saturday evening that South Koreans were among the dead, as well as an Indian woman and other foreigners. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the crisis and spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7 p.m. 
 
 The rescued Japanese hostage in Bangladesh has been identified as an employee for a Tokyo consulting firm that specializes in construction projects. 
 
 Japanese broadcaster NHK, citing an unnamed government official, said Saturday that he is Tamaoki Watanabe and works for Almec Corp. 
 
 He is among eight Japanese who were at the restaurant when it was attacked by militants on Friday night. The fates of the other seven have not been confirmed, but Japanese officials have called the situation "dire." 
 
 NHK reported that Almec is part of a Japanese development agency project to develop an urban transportation system in Dhaka. 
 
 6:30 p.m. 
 
 Italian media have identified one of the victims in the Dhaka restaurant attack as a 47-year-old manager from northeastern Italy. The Italian agency ANSA says the man, who was married and the father of 3-year-old twin girls, was in Bangladesh for work. ANSA said word spread Saturday in the town of Feletto Umberto, near Udine, that the man was among the 20 who died in the attack by extremists. 
 
 Bangladesh authorities have said 20 hostages died in the 10-hour siege that paramilitary forces ended Saturday morning. Many were foreigners. 
 
 Premier Matteo Renzi said earlier no details were being made public until families of the victims are officially notified. An Italian government plane was headed to Bangladesh, but Renzi didn't say if any victims' relatives might be aboard or if the aircraft was going to fly back bodies to Italy. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:30 p.m. 
 
 Emory University says in an email to employees that one of the Dhaka restaurant attack victims was Abinta Kabir, a student at the school's campus in Oxford, Georgia. She was visiting family and friends in Bangladesh when she was taken hostage and killed. 
 
 University president James Wagner said that Abinta's mother, with whom he had had contact, was in "unspeakable pain" upon receiving news of the death of her daughter. 
 
 "Please, as you are inclined, direct your kindest thoughts and sincerest prayers in her behalf and that of her family," Wagner wrote. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:30 p.m. 
 
 Pope Francis is condemning the Dhaka restaurant attack as an "offense against God and humanity." 
 
 The Vatican said Saturday that Francis sent a condolence message, describing himself as "deeply saddened by the senseless violence perpetrated against innocent victims in Dhaka." 
 
 Bangladeshi authorities say 20 hostages were killed by the extremists who began the attack Friday night. Paramilitary forces ended the standoff Saturday morning, killing six of the attackers. 
 
 Francis prayed for the dead, and assured "the grieving families and the wounded." 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:50 p.m. 
 
 An Indian government source who was not authorized to discuss details of the crisis said on condition of anonymity that the 20 hostages killed during the attack in the Bangladeshi capital included Italians, Japanese, South Koreans, Bangladeshis and one Indian. 
 
 The source said seven Bangladeshis and one Indian had been among the 13 rescued when commandos stormed the restaurant and killed six attackers. One attacker was taken alive and was being interrogated, the source said. 
 
 Some were in a hospital being treated for injuries, including at least two Sri Lankans, a Japanese and an Italian. 
 
 Two Bangladeshi police officers also died of wounds received Friday night when the hostage crisis began. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4 p.m. 
 
 Italy's premier says Italians are among the victims of the Dhaka attack, but won't say how many or give any other details until the victims' families have been notified. 
 
 Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said a government plane was on its way to the Bangladeshi capital. He told reporters in Rome on Saturday that "we followed the events" in Dhaka "all night hoping for a different outcome." 
 
 One Italian who managed to escape the attack was earlier quoted as saying there had been 10 or 11 Italians seated at two tables when the attack began on Friday night in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka. 
 
 "I was seated with my wife and a customer, at the other (there were) seven, eight persons," Gianni Boschetti told the Italian news agency ANSA, without giving any details about the fate of his wife or the others. Earlier, Italian radio reports said an Italian cook had escaped unharmed, but it was not immediately clear if Boschetti might be the cook. 
 
 Renzi said the "Italians are hit, but not bent" by the "folly'" of radical extremism. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4 p.m. 
 
 The head of Japan's development agency has expressed his strong indignation toward the attackers in the Bangladesh restaurant attack, saying the Japanese taken hostage were working hard for the development of the South Asian country. 
 
 One Japanese hostage has been hospitalized, and the fate of seven others is unknown. They were outside consultants working for Japan's development agency on an infrastructure project. 
 
 Bangladesh authorities say 20 hostages were killed but have not identified them. 
 
 Japan International Cooperation Agency President Shinichi Kitaoka said Saturday evening in Tokyo that that the restaurant was believed to be in a safe area, though it is also could have been a soft target for militants. 
 
 He said his agency would strengthen security precautions while continuing to contribute to the development of Bangladesh. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:50 p.m. 
 
 India's foreign minister says an Indian girl was among the 20 hostages killed in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka. 
 
 Sushma Swaraj said in a message from her Twitter account that she is "extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarushi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka." 
 
 She said has spoken with the girl's father and "conveyed her deepest condolences." 
 
 The army has said 20 hostages were killed in the attack, but it has not disclosed their nationalities. 
 
 Bangladesh paramilitary troops mounted a rescue operation Saturday morning, about 10 hours after the hostage crisis began in the diplomatic quarter of the capital. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:15 p.m., Dhaka 
 
 A top Bangladesh military official says 20 hostages were killed in the attack on a Dhaka restaurant where heavily armed militants held dozens of people hostage in a 10-hour standoff. 
 
 Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said six of the attackers were killed in the rescue operations early Saturday. Thirteen captives, including some foreigners, were rescued. 
 
 Two police officers were killed when the attackers stormed the popular restaurant and opened fire Friday night. 
 
 Chowdhury did not disclose the identities of the hostages. 
 
 The paramilitary troops who mounted the rescue operations recovered explosive devices and sharp weapons from the scene, he said. 
 
 The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:45 p.m., Dhaka 
 
 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has condemned the Dhaka restaurant attack by militants who took dozens hostage and vows to fight what she calls terrorist attacks that have rattled Bangladesh. 
 
 Hasina also said that security officials arrested one of the militants. Six others were killed, 13 hostage rescued while seven Japanese are unaccounted for. 
 
 Hasina says: "Because of the effort of the joint force, the terrorists could not flee." 
 
 She vowed to fight terrorist attacks in the country and urged people to come forward. 
 
 She says: "Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such act. They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism." 
 
 ___ 
 
 12 noon, Tokyo 
 
 A Japanese government spokesman says a Japanese hostage has been rescued but seven others unaccounted for in the restaurant attack in Bangladesh. 
 
 Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said Saturday that the eight were together at the restaurant during the attack. 
 
 Hagiuda says the Japanese man who was rescued was shot and is still being treated. He declined to give specifics about the hostage's condition but said he is able to talk. 
 
 He says the eight people were from different companies involved in the same project led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:35 a.m., Bangkok 
 
 The owner of the Bangladeshi restaurant at the center of the bloody hostage-taking says he wasn't able to communicate with his staff. 
 
 Nasirul Alam Porag was in Bangkok in Saturday when news reached him that militants took dozens of hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area, a diplomatic zone. Ten hours later, security forces stormed the restaurant, killing at least six of the militants and rescuing 13 people. Two police were killed in an earlier gunbattle and 26 people wounded. 
 
 Porag told The Associated Press: "Up until five minutes ago I didn't know anything. There is no one on the ground we can communicate with, not even the staff." 
 
 He said the restaurant employs about 50 staff but 20 were present at the time of the attack. 
 
 It opened two years ago, and he is one of three owners. They decided to open a new restaurant in Bangkok, which he is managing. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:35 a.m., Dhaka 
 
 The commanding officer of Bangladeshi commandos says at least six of the militants have been killed and 13 hostages rescued after security forces cleared the main restaurant building at the end of the 10-hour standoff. 
 
 Lt. Col. Tuhin Mohammad Masud told The Associated Press that some militants were captured. 
 
 He says: "We have gunned down at least six terrorists and the main building is cleared but the operation is still going on." 
 
 About 35 people were taken hostage, including about 20 foreigners, when gunmen stormed the Dhaka restaurant on Friday night. 
 
 Masud says the rescued include a Japanese, who was injured, and two Sri Lankans. 
 
 He says there are casualties among other hostages, but did not provide details. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:30 a.m., Dhaka and Tokyo 
 
 The sound of two big explosions has been heard from inside the Dhaka restaurant where security forces battled militants holding dozens of hostages, and a police official says five bodies were seen lying in pools of blood. 
 
 Security forces stormed the restaurant early Saturday to end the 10-hour standoff with militants. 
 
 In Tokyo, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda says 12 people were rescued in the raid, including two foreigners, but he couldn't say if they were Japanese. 
 
 About 35 people were taken hostage, including about 20 foreigners. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:20 a.m., Dhaka 
 
 Gunshots and explosions are heard as Bangladesh security forces are moving to end the 10-hour standoff with militants who stormed a Dhaka upscale restaurant and took dozens of people hostage. 
 
 Local TV stations reported that the operation began at 7:40 a.m. 
 
 Army personnel with automatic weapons have joined the operation. 
 
 At least seven armored vehicles are being used while several ambulances are on standby. 
 
 Local media reported that an Argentine and two Bangladeshis were rescued from the restaurant early Saturday, but details about their condition were not immediately available. 
 
 Journalists are not allowed near the scene. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:20 a.m. 
 
 A news agency affiliated with the Islamic Group has posted photos purportedly showing the bodies of hostages lying in pools of blood in the Dhaka restaurant where militants were holding about 35 people. 
 
 The authenticity of the pictures, carried by the Amaq news agency and monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group, could not be independently confirmed. 
 
 The same report says 24 people have been killed and 40 wounded, including foreigners. That figure could not be confirmed either. 
 
 Police say two officers were killed and 26 people wounded in a gunbattle with the militants as the standoff continues into Saturday morning. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Japan says that Japanese citizens may be among the hostages being held in Bangladesh. 
 
 The top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said at a hastily called news conference Saturday morning in Tokyo that the government is trying to confirm the information. 
 
 He says the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka set up a response center at 2:45 a.m. 
 
 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that saving lives is the top priority. 
 
 Heavily armed militants struck at the heart of Bangladesh's diplomatic zone on Friday night, taking at least 35 people — including about 20 foreigners — hostage in a restaurant. Two police were killed and at least 26 people wounded in a gunbattle. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:50 a.m. , Dhaka 
 
 A member of Bangladeshi security forces say authorities are planning to launch a coordinated response at dawn Saturday to end the hostage-taking by militants inside a Dhaka restaurant popular with foreigners. 
 
 According to internet service provider Aamr, authorities also ordered internet services to be blocked across the country. 
 
 A member of the Rapid Action Battalion, identifying himself as Lt. Col. Masood, told Indian TV that he attackers "have not responded to authorities' calls for negotiation." 
 
 He says a police cordon would prevent any of the attackers from escaping. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:00 a.m. 
 
 The U.S. State Department says it has seen the claims of responsibility by the Islamic State group for the hostage-taking in Dhaka but cannot yet confirm it. 
 
 A White House official said President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by his chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco. The president asked to be kept informed as the situation develops, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the president's meetings. 
 
 State Department spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. is in contact with the Bangladesh government and has offered its assistance to bring those responsible to justice. 
 
 He said all official American personnel are accounted for with no injuries reported, and the department is working with local authorities to determine if any U.S. citizens and locally-employed staff were affected. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1 a.m. 
 
 Police say two officers have been killed by attackers who stormed a restaurant popular with foreigners in a diplomatic zone in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, taking dozens of hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces. 
 
 Hospital authorities said another 25 officers and one civilian were being treated for injuries, including 10 people listed in critical condition. The injuries include bullet wounds and broken bones, they said. 
 
 The Islamic State's Amaq News Agency said the attack on the restaurant was carried out by "Islamic State commandos," according to the SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist activity. Bangladesh authorities did not immediately respond to the claim. 
 
 As many as nine gunmen attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area on Friday night.
– Among the 20 hostages killed in the attack on a cafe in Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka were three students attending college in the US, CNN reports. Abinta Kabir of Miami was a sophomore at Georgia's Emory University. She was visiting friends and family in Dhaka. Faraaz Hossain is from Dhaka and was a junior at Emory University. According to the AP, he was going to start business school in the fall. "The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family," the university states. "Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time." Nineteen-year-old Tarushi Jain was also killed in the attack. She was an Indian citizen attending UC Berkeley and had gone to high school at the American International School of Dhaka, NBC News reports. ISIS is claiming responsibility for the incident in which six people stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, killing 20 hostages during a 10-hour standoff that ended Saturday morning. Some of the victims were reportedly beheaded.