Begin quote from:
| Wall Street Journal | - |
Three
students attending U.S. universities were among the 20 civilian victims
of a terrorist attack at a cafe in Bangladesh on Friday, as were
several Italians in the garment industry and Japanese aid workers.
Bangladesh Attack Victims’ Nationalities Include American, Japanese, Italian
Three students attending U.S. universities, textile industry officials and aid workers among those killed
ENLARGE
Ambulances on Saturday carried the bodies of victims of a terror attack at an upscale cafe in the Bangladeshi capital.
Photo:
str/European Pressphoto Agency
Abinta Kabir, a U.S. citizen who was an undergraduate student at Emory University’s Oxford College campus in Georgia, was killed inside the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery, along with another Emory student, Faraaz Hossain, spokesmen for their families confirmed on Saturday. Mr. Hossain’s nationality wasn’t immediately clear.
The third student, Tarushi Jain, an 18 year-old Indian national who attended the University of California-Berkeley, also perished in the attack, the Associated Press reported, saying she had been visiting her businessman father in Bangladesh
Assailants armed with guns and explosives on Friday night stormed the cafe, which was popular with foreigners. Security forces subsequently entered the cafe after a firefight and rescued 13 of the hostages. Bangladeshi officials said the attack left 20 civilians, two police officers and six militants dead.
The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE intelligence group, which tracks militant activity.
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman declined to comment out of respect for the families of the deceased.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that nine Italians were among those killed. They were identified as Adele Puglisi, Marco Tondat, Claudia Maria D’Antona, Nadia Benedetti, Vincenzo D’Allestro, Maria Rivoli, Cristian Rossi, Claudio Cappelli and Simona Monti.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said 11 Italians were in the cafe when terrorists seized it. One escaped and was missing, though not identified as being among the victims, he said.
The Indian government said one of its citizen’s, Ms. Jain, had died in the attack.
Japan said seven of its citizens—five men and two women—were killed in the assault. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who confirmed the deaths, declined to identify the victims. But he said the seven were working on a project in Bangladesh led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a governmental body that carries out aid projects in developing nations.
“Because of this cruel and inhumane act of terror, the lives of many innocent people were taken. I feel strong outrage,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said a few hours before the deaths were confirmed.
As of late Saturday, Bangladeshi authorities hadn’t publicly disclosed the nationalities of the dead.
Several of the Italians who died in the assault worked in the garment and textile industry, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
Nadia Benedetti, one of the victims, was managing director of a textile company based in Bangladesh, called Studiotex Ltd. “She was supposed to come back [to Italy] today,” said her niece Giulia Benedetti in an Italian television interview.
Cristian Rossi, another victim, worked as a representative for textile companies interested in producing garments in Bangladesh, though was based in Italy. He had originally gone to Bangladesh as a buyer for an Italian textile firm. He later opened his own business dealing with Bangladesh, said Francesco Buonopane, a union official who said he was acquainted with Mr. Rossi.
“It’s hard to [accept] that going abroad to work, support a family and create a business” can lead to such a sad fate, said Gianluca Maiarelli, mayor of the northern Italian city of Tavagnacco, where Mr. Rossi lived, in an Italian TV interview.
Another victim, 39 year-old Marco Tondat, worked for an Italian textile company as a supervisor of production centers in Bangladesh, his brother, Fabio, said in an Italian television interview. He moved to Bangladesh a year ago and was supposed to go back to Italy for a short break on Monday.
‘Because of this cruel and inhumane act of terror, the lives of many innocent people were taken. I feel strong outrage.’
Many foreign retailers postponed business trips to the country, and buyers’ conferences were canceled, after Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella was shot dead in October not far from where Friday’s attack took place. Several garment factory owners say they have provided armed guards to foreign customers to calm fears.
After the killing of Mr. Tavella, in an attack also claimed by Islamic State, the U.S., U.K., Australian, Italian and Japanese embassies issued travel alerts warning of a continued threat against foreigners in Bangladesh. Some international nongovernment organizations and aid groups have restricted expatriate employees from traveling outside the capital.
At the time, Bangladeshi officials criticized the travel alerts and several ministers spoke of what they called an “international conspiracy” to malign Bangladesh.
—Peter Landers contributed to this article.
Write to Syed Zain Al-Mahmood at zain.al-mahmood@wsj.com 
