DHAKA: At least 13 of the 20 hostages who were killed in hours-long attack at a cafe in Bangladesh’s capital over the weekend have been publicly identified.

According to Italy’s foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni, of them, nine were Italian nationals, CNN publishes this report on Saturday (July 2).

Gentiloni said they were: Adele Puglisi; Marco Tondat; Claudia Maria D’Antona; Nadia Benedetti; Vincenzo D’Allestro; Maria Rivoli; Cristian Rossi; Claudio Cappelli; and Simona Monti.

Moreover, two people, who attended college in the United States, also killed in the attack.

One of the students was Indian citizen Tarushi Jain, 19, studying at University of California at Berkeley, according to India's minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj.

However, the other was a Bangladeshi Abinta Kabir, a student at Emory University’s campus in Oxford, Georgia state of the USA, the school said.

Kabir was in Dhaka visiting family and friends, the university added.

Two other Bangladeshis have been identified as Transcom Group chairman Latifur Rahman’s grandson Faiyaz Hossain and former chief of an art gallery Ishrat Akhand were killed.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday declared two-day national mourning for the victims.

Earlier in the day, Bangladeshi troops stormed an upscale bakery in city’s diplomatic enclave, ending an 11-hour siege by attackers, who killed 20 hostages and two police officers.

BDST: 2134 HRS, JUL 02, 2016
BD/RR