Bangladesh siege cafe to become family home

The owner of the Bangladeshi restaurant, where Islamist extremists killed 22 hostages, mostly foreigners, on Tuesday said he would turn the building into a home for his family and reopen the eatery elsewhere.

Police have handed the Holey Artisan Bakery back to its owners after completing a four-month investigation into the siege by extremists linked to the Islamic State group.

“Police have handed over the place to us on Sunday. They’ve cleaned up the debris. We’re now going to turn it into a residential home where we’ll live,” owner Sadat Mehdi said.

Mehdi, who lost five friends in the attack, said he wanted to send a message that “we are not defined by terror”. 

The Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan neighbourhood was popular with expats and the city’s wealthy. Japanese and Italian diners were among the 18 foreigners killed in the July attack.