The nine militants that were killed in a special drive by joint forces in Dhaka were all very young and 'highly educated' and they shouted "Allahu Akbar" before attacking the law enforcers during the standoff.
The militants were aged about 20, wore jeans and sneakers and were highly educated, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and added that "Allahu Akbar" inscribed black flags were recovered from the den.
13 handmade grenades, one sword, one pistol, seven magazines and were also recovered.
SWAT, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch of police (DB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) jointly carried out a one-hour operation "Storm 26," at Jahaj Building in Dhaka's Kalyanpur area on Tuesday.
The militants had rented the apartment on June 20 and had gathered there to carry out terror attacks, said officials.
The occupants of the building and adjacent ones were evacuated overnight to carry out the raid.
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A militant identified as Hassan, who was held alive during the drive, has reportedly confessed to be an operative of the Islamic State and was a student of Bogra's Government Shah Sultan College.
However, the police suspects they are members of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who were trying to wield the emblem of the Islamic State
The DMP Commissioner added that police suspect these attackers belong to the same group that attacked the Gulshan cafe because similar kind of red handkerchiefs, black dresses and backpacks were found.