Dhaka attack: ISIS used photos posted by attackers to take false credit

Dhaka: The terrorists who massacred 20 people in the Dhaka café attack had uploaded pictures of their victims on the internet, which were used by Islamic State (IS) to claim responsibility for the attack.

According to an NDTV report, a top Bangladeshi official has said that the terrorists had mobiles and tabs, which were used to upload the pictures. ISIS immediately got hold of these images and claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

Read: Bangladesh attack: Pak ISI role under scanner; ISIS involvement ruled out

The Bangladesh government on Sunday ruled out an ISIS hand in the attack. HT Imam, who is the political advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said that the attack seemed to be the handiwork of a local banned terror group called Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen that has links to the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Bangladesh has blamed two home-grown groups for a series of grisly killings targeting liberals or members of minority groups over the past 18 months, and local authorities have maintained that no operational links exist between Bangladeshi militants and international jihadi networks.

Read: Photos of bodies of Bangladeshi attackers released along with first names

ISIS had on Saturday uploaded photos of five fighters it said were involved in the killings.

Police said nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, an Indian and a US citizen were killed during the attack at the Dhaka building.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced two days of national mourning on Saturday and said the country would stand up and fight the "terror threat".