Dhaka attack: One US citizen among those killed; country offers assistance to Bangladesh

Three students at universities in the United States, including a US citizen and an Indian citizen, were among those killed in a militant attack in Bangladesh, university officials, the Indian government and a source said on Saturday. The State Department confirmed one US citizen was killed, but gave no details.

"We can confirm that a U.S. citizen was also among those senselessly murdered in this attack," it said in a statement. The White House condemned the attack in the country's capital Dhaka, which it said resulted in as many as 20 deaths, including that of the American. "We remain in contact with Bangladeshi authorities and have offered any assistance necessary," it said.  A State Department official said the department was not aware that any more U.S. citizens had been among the hostages.

Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, said two of its students were killed in the attack and an Indian government official said an Indian citizen who was a student at the University of California at Berkeley was among the dead. "The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss," the university said in a statement. Undergraduate Abinta Kabir and Goizueta Business School graduate student Faraaz Hossain were the two victims from Emory, the statement said. Emory said Kabir was from Miami and Hossain was from Dhaka. A source with knowledge of the situation said that the US citizen confirmed by the State Department was one of the Emory students.

Condemning the terrorist attack in Bangladesh as "despicable", the United States offered to assist Bangladeshi authorities in bringing to justice those responsible for the death of 20 people, including foreigners, at a restaurant in Dhaka's high-security diplomatic zone.

"We remain in contact with Bangladeshi authorities and have offered any assistance necessary," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

"This is a despicable act of terrorism, and the US stands with Bangladesh and the international community in our resolve to confront terrorism wherever it occurs," Earnest said.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said: "We remain in close contact with the Government of Bangladesh and have offered our assistance in their efforts to bring to justice those responsible for these attacks."

The spokesman said the threat that "terrorist ideologies" pose to the world does not require physical presence in a country. He said the US is troubled by recent attacks on secular bloggers, activists and minorities in Bangladesh. He, however, added that these attacks do not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of Bangladeshis. "These attacks are being carried out by those who seek to stifle those who disagree with them," the spokesperson said.

"Bangladesh has a proud tradition of being a pluralistic society that values diversity and welcomes the free exchange of ideas. These are the values that the violent extremists are ultimately attacking," the official said.

The US is working with members of civil society and the media to support their efforts to counter the violent, hateful ideologies and to reinforce the great majority of Bangladeshi society that values diversity, freedom to peacefully practice religion, freedom of expression, and rule of law, he said.

The official said that counter-terrorism assistance to Bangladesh is designed to improve the government's ability to address terrorism threats from domestic and transnational terrorist organisations by building capacity to impede the efforts of these groups to plan and conduct attacks.

"We support the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), of which Bangladesh is a pilot country. This funding supports grassroots projects to strengthen communities' resilience to violent extremism," he said. US is also working with Bangladeshi police on community policing projects, with madrassa students to increase the economic opportunities for vulnerable youth, and with community leaders on conflict mitigation, he added.

With Reuters/PTI inputs