Bangladesh police kill ´mastermind´ of Dhaka cafe attack

DHAKA: Bangladesh security forces killed three militants on Saturday, including a Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen accused of masterminding an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last month that killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, police said.

The militants were cornered in a hideout on the outskirts of the capital and, having refused to surrender, were killed in the ensuing gun battle, Monirul Islam, the head of the Dhaka police counterterrorism unit, told Reuters.

He initially said four militants had been killed but later revised the number to three. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to visit on Monday to discuss security after a series of killings targeting liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country.

Islamic State (Daesh) claimed responsibility for the assault on the cafe in a posh neighbourhood where militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian.

The government has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation such as al Qaeda or Islamic State.