Dhaka restaurant attackers were ‘highly educated rich kids’, say authorities

Authorities believe the gunmen who killed 20 hostages in a Bangladesh restaurant siege were “highly educated” and from “well-off families”. Islamic State published pictures of five of its fighters it said died in the all-night siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital Dhaka’s diplomatic zone. Posts on Facebook identified the men, who appeared smiling in front of a black flag, as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Andaleeb Ahmed and Raiyan Minhaj. Authorities are seeking more information about the suspects, but said most went to elite schools in Bangladesh and Malaysia and were from wealthy families.

A majority of the boys who attacked the restaurant came from very good educational institutions.

Bangladeshi information minister Hasanul Haq Inu

Bangladeshi information minister Hasanul Haq Inu told India’s NDTV: “Some went to sophisticated schools. Their families are relatively well-to-do people.” Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP: “They are all highly educated young men and from well-off families.” Asked why they would have become jihadists, Mr Khan responded: “It has become a fashion.” Mr Khan insisted homegrown militants behind a wave of killings against minority groups in the past year-and-a-half were to blame for the bloodshed at the restaurant, rather than so-called Islamic State. Survivors said the attackers spared the lives of Muslims while herding foreigners to their deaths - killing many with machete-style weapons within the first 20 minutes of the siege.

Bangladesh restaurant