A group of up to nine attackers have taken an unknown number of hostages inside a restaurant in a diplomatic zone in Bangladesh's capital.
This is an urban area where ex-pats, diplomats, and foreign travelers converge for dinner.
Bangladesh TV stations reported that the attackers entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area around 9:20 p.m. Friday and were holding customers and staff hostage.
The TV reports said the identities of the attackers were not immediately known.
The reports say a huge contingent of security guards cordoned off the area and the restaurant as they traded gunfire with the attackers who set off explosions.
CNN is reporting that one officer has died.
All Americans at the U.S. Embassy have been accounted for.
Jamuna Television reported, quoting a kitchen staff worker at the restaurant who escaped the attack, said that the gunmen chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God Is Great) as they launched the attack.
Sign Up
