Bangladesh commemorates 3rd anniversary of Dhaka cafe attack

Memorials were held here on Monday to commemorate the 3rd anniversary of Bangaldesh's worst terrorist attack when dozens of people were killed by militants at a cafe in Dhaka, mostly foreigners.

On Monday morning, mourners including Bangladeshi officials, politicians and foreign diplomats gathered at the scene of the massacre, placed wreaths and prayed for the departed souls, reports Xinhua news agency.

Five gunmen stormed the Spanish Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan diplomatic area  on July 1, 2016, and taking several dozen hostages. When Dhaka Metropolitan Police tried to regain control of the bakery, two police officers were shot dead.

Twenty-two civilians were also killed in the clash, seventeen of whom were foreign nationals.

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.

But Bangladeshi authorities rejected the claim, saying operatives of a banned local militant outfit -- Neo-JMB, an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), plotted the attack to boast about their existence.