Saudi Embassy in Bangladesh said that no compatriot was killed by attackers who stormed a restaurant popular with foreigners in a diplomatic zone in Dhaka. A group of hostage-takers murdered 20 foreigners, hacking many of their victims to death, before six attackers were gunned down by Bangladesh commandos at the end of an overnight siege Saturday at the upmarket Holey Artisan Bakery cafe. Thirteen captives including foreigners were rescued. Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the shooting and hostage-taking. An official source at the Saudi Foreign Ministry extended condolences to the families of the victims and to the government of Bangladesh and its people, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi condemned the deadly attack. "Italy is united and ... will not backtrack in the face of the madness of those who want to destroy the life we live everyday," Renzi told a news conference in Rome. At least seven Italians had been held hostage inside the cafe, Italian officials say, though there are unconfirmed media reports that as many as 10 were held hostage. The head of Japan's development agency expressed his strong indignation toward the attackers, 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. Survivors told of how the hostage-takers separated locals from the foreigners who were eating side-by-side before embarking on a killing spree which was brought to an end 11 hours later in a fierce gun battle. Two police officers were also killed at the start of the siege while a total of six attackers were shot dead at its finale. "It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people?" Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a televised address. "We've recovered 20 bodies. Most them had been brutally hacked to death with sharp weapons," an army spokesman, Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury, told reporters.
