Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, says resisting brainwashing of youths through false interpretation of religion is important than any other tasks now in the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announces a two-day national mourning for the victims of Holey Artisan Bakery attack at Gulshan diplomatic zone in Dhaka and urges all, including anti-terrorism committees, community police and general people, to get united to resist a handful of derailed terrorists.

In the backdrop of confusion over whether there is any Bangladeshi citizen among the dead victims at Holey Artisan cafe, a top military officer insists that not all of the 20 killed by the militants were foreigners.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemns the Gulshan restaurant attack that resulted in the confirmed death of two police officials and six gunmen. The premier questions the religious morale of the attackers and slams media for covering the unfolding events live on television.

The US State Department says it “cannot yet confirm” the link of Middle-east-based terror group Islamic State (IS) with the hostage crisis at a restaurant in Bangladesh capital Dhaka though the group reportedly claimed credit for the attack.

Stay tuned with The Daily Star for live updates of the hostage crisis at a restaurant in Gulshan, Dhaka.

In an unprecedented turn of events last night, gunmen held hostage dozens of people inside a popular hangout for foreigners in the capital's diplomatic zone of Gulshan, and fired shots and hurled bombs at law enforcers, killing at least two cops and injuring around 40. According to some accounts, 20 foreigners and a few children were among the hostages.

Three suspected Islamic State suicide bombers who killed 43 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul are Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals, Turkish official say.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says first signs in Istanbul attack point to Islamic State group.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat has emphasised on working together globally to fight terrorist group Islamic State “instead of trying to find out whether it has any presence in Bangladesh or not”.

A man claiming allegiance to so-called Islamic State (IS) stabbed a French police commander to death before being killed when police stormed a house, officials have said.

Libyan forces say they have re-taken control of the port in the city of Sirte, after fierce fighting against militants from so-called Islamic State.

Police will launch seven-day clampdown on militants and criminals across the country in the wake of recent murders, which law enforcers think are works of militants. The decision came at a meeting at Police Headquarters in Dhaka.

BNP alleges that the government itself is trying to destabilise the country by using the repeated incidents of secret killings only to stay in power.

The global threat emanating from Islamic State (IS) remains high, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a report. The continued military pressure exerted in Iraq and Syria by international coalition forces leads to serious military setbacks for IS, Xinhua quotes Ban as saying in the report.

While the government was taking pride in containing militancy by cracking down on Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) over the last several years, two new radical Islamist groups have built up an extensive network that remained relatively unnoticed until late last year.

In March, a senior commander with the Islamic State group was driving through northern Syria on orders to lead militants in the fighting there when a drone blasted his vehicle to oblivion.

At least 20,000 children are trapped in jihadist bastion Fallujah under siege by Iraqi forces and face shortages and forced recruitment as fighters, the UN Children's Fund says.

Islamic State fighters capture territory from Syrian rebels near the Turkish border and inch closer to a town on a supply route for foreign-backed insurgents fighting the jihadists, a monitoring group said.

Islamic State is trying to ride a wave of religious radicalisation by “falsely claiming” a spate of killings in Bangladesh, a minister says adding there is enough evidence implicating domestic militant groups.