DHAKA: Relatives of foreign hostages murdered in a Bangladeshi restaurant were in Dhaka on Monday to take their loved ones’ bodies home as authorities made the first arrests over the killings.

Many were in tears as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid wreaths on the coffins of those killed in the siege at an upmarket cafe in the capital, by far the deadliest in a spate of recent attacks that have caused international alarm.

They included nine Italians, seven Japanese, a US citizen and a 19-year-old Indian student, whose body was flown home on Monday morning.

Witnesses say the perpetrators of the attack, which the militant Islamic State group has claimed, spared the lives of Muslims while herding foreigners to their deaths, killing many with machete-style weapons.

Among the mourners at the ceremony in a Dhaka stadium was Muksedur Rahman who described slain Italian textile trader Nadia Benedetti as a “great human being” who had worked to help Bangladeshi survivors of acid attacks.

“Nadia Benedetti had been working in Bangladesh for more than 20 years,” said Rahman, a colleague of the Italian. “I can’t believe she had to die like this. We have to stand against such terrorism right now.”

The government said the bodies of the Italian and Japanese victims would be handed over to diplomats before being flown home.

Italy’s ambassador Mario Palma said Friday night’s attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe was “unprecedented” and promised his country’s full support in tackling a rise in Islamist militancy in Bangladesh.

Commandos killed six suspected jihadists in the final stages of the siege, but one was taken alive.

On Monday police formally arrested him and one other suspect. “Two suspects are in our custody. One of them is injured and is hospitalised,” said police inspector general Shahidul Hoque.

Survivors told police all the victims were killed within the first 20 minutes of the attack, he added.

Police also raided the home of a survivor after images showed him walking around the restaurant compound during the siege, but found no evidence against him, local media reported.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2016