In pictures: Hostage drama in Bangladesh

Twenty civilians and two police officers killed in attack at popular cafe in Dhaka.

Twenty civilians were killed, with many of them hacked to death, in a hostage -taking attack at a popular cafe in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
Bangladeshi troops stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area on Saturday morning to end the 10-hour standoff, killing six attackers and rescuing 13 hostages, officials said.
The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, also left at least two police officers dead and dozens wounded.

The hostage crisis began when a group of gunmen ran into the restaurant, which was packed with people waiting for tables [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

A police officer is wounded by a grenade thrown by the attackers near the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

Bangladeshi soldiers taking position on a street close to the cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan area [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

Army soldiers arrive on a boat to take part in the rescue mission [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

A surviving suspected attacker taken by the police to a secure location [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

Family members of victims grieve for their losses [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

Police said that security forces had initially tried to negotiate a way out of the crisis [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]

Thirteen hostages were rescued by the police [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

The rescued included two Sri Lankans and a Japanese citizen, who was wounded [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]