Italian officials visit Dhaka cafe killing scene

Italian officials and relatives of the nine Italian victims of the Dhaka cafe siege visit the scene of the bloodshed. Paul Chapman reports.

 

Italy’s deputy foreign minister was among those to visit the scene of the Dhaka restaurant attack with relatives of some of the nine Italians who died. They were among 20 people, mostly foreigners, killed by gunmen who stormed the building on July 1st. Mario Giro’s pledging support to Bangladesh to fight what he called global terrorism.

“Of course we have to counter global terrorism and in order to counter global terrorism we need global response, common response, in terms of co-operation of intelligence, co-operation of policies.”

Some within Bangladesh’s garment industry fear the attack will lead Western fashion retailers to review their ties. Italy alone imported textiles worth more $1.3 billion last year. Some of the Italians who died were entrepreneurs in the clothing industry. The victims also included Japanese, Indian and American nationals. The Bangladeshi foreign minister’s been meeting nearly 50 diplomats in Dhaka to reassure them of the government’s determination to tackle militancy. Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the bloodshed. The Bangladeshi government says the killers were home-grown militants and there’s no evidence of foreign involvement.