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July 2016 Dhaka Attack

SOLVED2016Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · torture · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the evening of 1 July 2016, five armed attackers entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan Thana area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, carrying crude bombs, pistols, assault rifles, and at least one sword. They opened fire indiscriminately, detonated explosives, and took dozens of people hostage, including many foreign nationals. Restaurant staff hid in a cramped second-floor restroom while the attackers moved through the building, separating Muslims from non-Muslims and reportedly sparing those who could recite verses from the Quran.

Police officers, including detective Rabiul Islam and officer-in-charge Salahuddin Ahmed, responded to the gunfire and attempted to intervene. Both officers were killed by the attackers, who threw grenades and fired on police as a cordon was established with support from the Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was briefed on the unfolding crisis and ordered a military response.

In the early hours of 2 July, the Bangladesh Armed Forces launched a counter-assault codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, led by the 1st Para-Commando Battalion under operational commander Brigadier General Mujibur Rahman. Commandos, supported by armored personnel carriers, breached the building around 07:40 local time and secured the site within roughly 50 minutes. Thirteen hostages were rescued alive. Five attackers were killed in the operation and a sixth individual was captured. A bakery employee was mistakenly killed by commandos during the raid, having been misidentified as an attacker.

In total, 29 people were killed: 20 hostages (17 foreign nationals and three Bangladeshis), two police officers, five attackers, and two bakery staff members. Victims included nine Italian citizens, seven Japanese nationals associated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Tarishi Jain, a 19-year-old Indian student at the University of California, Berkeley. Autopsies reportedly indicated that the Italian victims had been tortured before death. Fifty other people, mostly police personnel, were injured.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and released photographs of the attackers, who were identified by Bangladeshi police as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam, and Shafiqul Islam — young, well-educated men from affluent Bangladeshi families. Bangladesh's then-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan stated the attackers belonged to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh rather than being directly affiliated with the Islamic State.

Subsequent law-enforcement operations targeted individuals believed connected to the attack's planning and logistics, including raids that killed several suspected militant figures in the following months. In December 2018, eight people accused of helping plan and supply weapons for the attack went on trial before a special tribunal in Dhaka. In November 2019, seven were convicted and sentenced to death, and one was acquitted. Following appeal proceedings, the death sentences of the seven convicted individuals were later commuted to life imprisonment.

Key facts

Victims
Tarishi Jain, Salahuddin Ahmed, Faraaz Hossain, Rabiul Islam
Date
2016
Location
Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2016-07-01

    Five armed attackers storm the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka, taking hostages and opening fire; two police officers are later killed while responding.

  2. 2016-07-02

    Bangladesh Armed Forces launch Operation Thunderbolt at approximately 07:40 local time, ending the siege; five attackers are killed, one is captured, and 13 hostages are rescued.

  3. 2016-07-05

    Bodies of nine Italian victims and seven Japanese victims are repatriated to Italy and Japan respectively.

  4. 2016-07-08

    An injured bakery staff member dies at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, raising the death toll.

  5. 2016-07-16

    Police arrest three people, including a North South University professor, for renting a flat allegedly used by the attackers.

  6. 2016-07-26

    Police raid an apartment in Kallyanpur, killing nine and arresting one suspect believed linked to the same militant group.

  7. 2016-08-27

    Tamim Chowdhury, described as the attack's mastermind, is killed in a raid on an Islamic State safehouse in Dhaka.

  8. 2016-09-02

    Chowdhury's deputy, referred to as Murad, is killed in another raid in Dhaka's Rupnagar area.

  9. 2017-01-06

    Bangladeshi police kill Nurul Islam Marjan, a wanted commander of a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh splinter group linked to the attack.

  10. 2017-01-13

    Counterterrorism forces arrest Jahangir Alam, a suspected key planner of the attack, in Tangail District.

  11. 2018-12

    Trial opens before a special tribunal in Dhaka for eight people accused of helping plan and supply weapons for the attack.

  12. 2019-11

    Seven defendants are convicted and sentenced to death; one is acquitted.

  13. 2025-06-17

    Bangladesh's Supreme Court uploads the full verdict text commuting the seven death sentences to life imprisonment until natural death.

Best coverage

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People

  • Nibras Islam

    CHARGED

    Identified by Bangladeshi police as one of five gunmen; killed during the rescue operation, IS claimed him among the attackers

    citation on file

  • Tarishi Jain

    VICTIM

    19-year-old Indian national and University of California, Berkeley student, killed in the attack

    citation on file

  • Gias Uddin Ahsan

    CHARGED

    North South University professor arrested for allegedly renting a flat to the attackers

    citation on file

  • Asaduzzaman Mia

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led officers in an attempt to rescue civilians during the siege

    citation on file

  • Salahuddin Ahmed

    VICTIM

    Officer-in-charge of Banani police station, killed responding to the attack

    citation on file

  • Mujibur Rahman

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Brigadier General and operational commander of the 1st Para-Commando Battalion leading Operation Thunderbolt

    citation on file

  • Khairul Islam

    CHARGED

    Identified by Bangladeshi police as one of five gunmen; killed during the rescue operation

    citation on file

  • Faraaz Hossain

    VICTIM

    Bangladeshi hostage who was offered release but refused to leave his friends and was killed

    citation on file

  • Tamim Chowdhury

    CHARGED

    Described as the attack's mastermind; killed in a raid on an Islamic State safehouse in Dhaka on 27 August 2016

    citation on file

  • Jahangir Alam

    CHARGED

    Suspected key planner of the attack, arrested by counterterrorism forces on 13 January 2017

    citation on file

  • Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin

    CHARGED

    Building manager arrested in connection with the flat rented to the attackers

    citation on file

  • Nurul Islam Marjan

    CHARGED

    Commander of a JMB splinter group wanted for his role in the attack; shot dead by police on 6 January 2017

    citation on file

  • Rohan Imtiaz

    CHARGED

    Identified by Bangladeshi police as one of five gunmen; killed during the rescue operation

    citation on file

  • Rabiul Islam

    VICTIM

    Assistant Commissioner, Detective Branch, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, killed responding to the attack

    citation on file

  • Alam Chowdhury

    CHARGED

    Nephew of Gias Uddin Ahsan, arrested in connection with the flat rented to attackers

    citation on file

  • Meer Saameh Mubasheer

    CHARGED

    Identified by Bangladeshi police as one of five gunmen; killed during the rescue operation

    citation on file

  • Shafiqul Islam

    CHARGED

    Identified by Bangladeshi police as one of five gunmen (also referred to as Shafiqul Islam Ujjal); killed during the rescue operation

    citation on file

Places

Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh

23.8025, 90.4167

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On the night of 1 July 2016, five gunmen took hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan neighborhood, killing 29 people including 20 hostages and two police officers before a military commando raid ended the siege the next morning.
Where did the crime happen?
Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. July 2016 Dhaka attackwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage of the Dhaka attacknews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
  3. Gunmen take hostages at Bangladesh restaurant, 2 deadnews · The Washington Post · 2026-07-07
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