Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said the cafe was located in one of the most heavily-policed parts of the capital, home to several embassies and popular with foreigners.

Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said the cafe was located in one of the most heavily-policed parts of the capital, home to several embassies and popular with foreigners.

"In order to get in here you have to pass through a lot of police checkpoints. It's a highly cordoned-off area," Chowdhury said.

"So there's going to be a serious question raised: How did they manage to get in there with arms and ammunition, possibly even bombs and hand grenades?"

Bangladesh attack: Hostage siege ends as cafe stormed

ISIL says it has carried out attack in Dhaka and posts photos of bodies online of what it claims are dead foreigners.

ALJAZEERA.COM