Dhaka terror: Outrage in India, PM Modi speaks to Sheikh Hasina

The attack on an upscale restaurant in Dhaka has triggered outrage, concern and sorrow in the neigbouring India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing “pain beyond words at this despicable attack.”

Mr Modi spoke to his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina and expressed condolences and solidarity at the devastating terror attack in Dhaka, which killed 20 people including a young Indian girl studying in California.

“The attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words. I spoke to PM Sheikh Hasina & strongly condemned the despicable attack,” Mr Modi said in a series of tweets.

“I pray that those who are injured recover quickly,” Mr Modi said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also expressed sorrow and sympathy at the terror attack which has sparked outrage in not just Bangladesh, but also in India and the region. “I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarishi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka. I have spoken to her father Shri Sanjeev Jain and conveyed our deepest condolences. The country is with them in this hour of grief,” Swaraj said in a series of tweets.

The attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Dhaka on July 1 began a 12-hour siege, which ended with over 100 Bangladeshi commandos storming the place to rescue hostages.

The attack was reminiscent of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai on a luxury hotel and other venues in India’s cosmopolitan state in 2008, in which Pakistani terrorists took Indians hostage and slaughtered 166 people.

The Islamic State, according to some reports, claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. State Department, however, has said it cannot yet be confirmed.

The IS has claimed many attacks in Bangladesh in recent past, including the attacks on Hindus in the neighbouring country.

The terror attack in Dhaka is set to propel India and Bangladesh to step up their counter-terror cooperation in days to come. Indian intelligence and security agencies are closely tracking the rise of Islamist radicalism and the ramifications of the July 1 terror attack in Dhaka.

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