Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Bangladesh Hostage Situation Resolved; Examining Regional Security Concerns; Brexit Vote Aftermath. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired July 2, 2016 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:20] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: 5:00 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast. Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is "CNN Newsroom". I'm George Howell and we continue following the breaking news.

Out of Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi army says 20 people were killed by attackers using sharp weapons. A hostage standoff in Dhaka that dragged on for more than half a day. Gunman took over the Artisan Bakery there on Friday night.

Official say, troops later counterattacked. They rescued 13 hostages. They also shot six gunmen to death ending that siege. It is still unclear though, whether one of those attackers was captured. The cafe is in Dhaka's diplomatic order. It has believed that some of the hostages were foreigners.

At the onset of this standoff, two police officers were killed in a gun battle with the attackers. 40 other people were wounded. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack though there is some uncertainty as to whether it could be a different group.

Following the situation in Bangladesh. We're joined now by CNN Sumnima Udas, live in New Delhi. Sumnima, it's good to have you with us. So we want to just get some understanding of what more we're hearing from officials there, given that we now know that 20 civilians were killed.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that is really the headline, George, that 20 civilians have died in this terrorist attack and all of them were foreigners. And according to the military, sharp weapons were used to kill some of those 20 civilians.

Now, when they were killed, we do not know did it happen before. The security officers stormed into that restaurant. Did it happen after? We do not know at the moment. For the longest time, there was a complete blackout really of information coming from that area, from the security officials because of the sensitivity of the issue.

But since then, there's been a military that's been holding press conferences. The Prime Minister as well. And the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, saying that 13 hostages have been rescued. That includes one Japanese national and two Sri Lankans. Now, the Japanese national is believed to have been with seven other businessmen. At that restaurant, we don't know -- we do not know at the moment the faith of those other seven. We also know that six attackers have been killed and there are some reports as you mentioned that one of the terrorist was attacked. Now, -- sorry, captured now. If that is the case, that will give some more light as to what exactly happened. Who was the behind this and why. Of course, as we've been reporting, ISSI has claimed responsibility for this attack.

But there's a lot of security officials in the United States who sort of question that because ISIS is not that prevalent in the South Asia region. It's something that the government of Bangladesh has also long the night what analyst have set, is that al-Qaeda has a much larger presence in the subcontinent. But for the moment, we do not know for sure who is behind this attack, George?

HOWELL: Information has been slow to come and you know, understanding what happened there. Again, this took half a day, you know, some 13 hours. But you mentioned that information that media blackout, which is not uncommon when you deal with these different tactical operations. Obviously, they want people inside are not seeing what's happening outside. So that part, understandable.

But I'd like to ask you, if indeed, there is a person, one of the gunman who has been taken, you know, and now will be questioned, how important will that be for these investigators to, first of all, determine who is behind this?

UDAS: It's incredibly important. Because that's pretty much the only way at the moment to -- for authorities to figure out who is behind it. As I mentioned, ISIS has claimed responsible. But a lot of security officials in the United States have questioned that are, security analysts have questioned that and also the government has denied that ISIS is present in Bangladesh.

Now, we know, you know, there's been a series of attacks against writers, bloggers, atheist, Hindu, priests, for this month for instance. For a lot of those attacks, ISIS has claimed responsibility. And every time they've done that, the government of Bangladesh has always denied as ISIS is present. It's always attributed those attacks to home-grown militants.

[05:05:030] So again, we do not know that one person who is -- or terrorist has been captured, if indeed he has been captured. Then that will really shed a lot of light as to what exactly happened and who's behind this, George?

HOWELL: And you mentioned those attacks that have happen to individuals who have been hacked to death in Bangladesh. You and I have covered many of those gruesome stories. But it's still unclear at this point for our viewers as to whether, you know, any of those groups, which group might be behind this attack that CNN reporters and correspondents are of course gathering the fact. And we'll bring them to you. Sumnima has done today, live for us. Thank you so much for your reporting today. Let's now get some context from Charu Lata Hogg, an expert on security issues in Bangladesh in Sri Lanka and Nepal working with Chatham House in London.

Again, thank you for being with us this hour. First, I'd like to talk about exactly how this attack ended. You know, we know that two officers lost their lives doing their very best to go in and deal with this. We are learning more about the injured, the fatalities, 20 civilians killed. But the simple fact that there were hostages who were freed, that is important.

CHARU LATA HOGG, ASSOCIATE FELLOW ASIA PROGRAM CHATHAM HOUSE: Yes, absolutely. I mean, as they say, if there was an instant and quite a rapid security response by the Bangladesh Government, which was necessary and dates as we -- as eventually set of unfolding at the moment. But as we understand, one person has been, you know, one attacker has been captured and therefore, we hope to see some vital information in terms of the methodology, the origin the, reason for this attack and who indeed was responsible for it. So in terms of the security response by the Bangladesh Government, it's so facto after the event. I think they tried their best. But the question here is how could this happen in the first event?

HOWELL: You know, you and I have talked about the fact that there have been other individual attacks. We just talked about this with our correspondent. On secular blogger, on people who have different ideals and views that many of these Islamist militant groups can't draw any connections at this point to what happened in Bangladesh over the night and into the morning. But the simple fact that we know, you know, these attackers use sharp weapons that, you know, terrorism has happened and again continues to happen, does it put more pressure on the government to really dig in and do more here?

HOGG: Absolutely. I mean in a sense, the pressure on the government has been mounting over the past two years. You know, there has been a rapid escalation of attacks and some very brutal attacks. You know, bloggers and other journalists who sought protection haven't been provided protection. There has been very little investigation of who has been responsible for these attacks and indeed no prosecutions or convictions so far.

So from that point of view, has the government's response to its terrorism, however home grown or whatever it may be, has it be tepid? Certainly it has been tepid. Certainly more can be done. Certainly democracy could be protected more in Bangladesh.

HOWELL: In many cases, the criticism has been that the government is almost saying two different things, you know, in fact that they will, you know, protect people when they're in their country, especially when it comes to the secular bloggers that I mentioned. But at the same time they pointed out, well, the writers should write more responsibly.

HOGG: Absolutely. So they are urging writers to exercise a censorship and not have freedom of expression. So in a sense, they are doing the line carefully between not offending, that the set radicalized end of the religious spectrum which is definitely, you know, for unpolitical reasons the fact that they need the support of the growing community within Bangladesh, which perhaps is more lenient towards a more stringent form of Islam. And this traces back to the tensions that exist between sort of Islam and secularism within Bangladesh for years and no political party has effectively addressed this.

HOWELL: Charu Lata Hogg, thank you so much for your insights. And we'll stay in touch with you as we continue to learn more information about what happened there.

Let's talk more and more now about what happened with Shehryar Fazli I should say. A senior South Asia analyst for the non profit organization, the international crisis group joining us now live via Skype from Islamabad, Pakistan. Thank you for being with us. First of all, when you heard about this, what were your thoughts?

SHEHRYAR FAZLI, SOUTH ASIA ANALYST FOR CRISIS GROUP: Well, it's yet another very brutal attack against the symbols of surrealism in Bangladesh.

[05:10:01] And also as previous guests have said, a dramatic escalation of all the facts. A very worrying trend.

HOWELL: And at this point it's unclear, you know, as to whether al- Qaeda, in the Indian subcontinent is behind it or whether in fact ISIS that has claimed responsibility is the group to blame for this. But the simple fact that there is confusion between these two groups that are, in fact in competition with each other there in the region, how will investigators sort through that?

FAZLI: And you know, whatever international network was potentially involved, I think equally important is examining the domestic actors that carried it out. There are various some styles the Jihadist groups operating in Bangladesh.

And one likely suspect in this case is a group called the Ansar ul- Islam, also known as the Ansar ul-Bangla team which has emerged in recent years, espousing in battles, ideology, leads to al-Qaeda and subcontinent. Responsible for and has claimed the killings of secular bombers and publishers and it's also believed who have killed several foreigners, LGBT activists and other, as I said symbols of Bangladesh (inaudible).

Its focus has been primary on Dhaka. There are other groups operating in places like Chittagong in the countryside. But this group has been focused on Dhaka. And I think, let's also keep in mind that a Hindu priest in the Southwestern district was hacked to death yesterday as well. So this problem is large. It's growing and the targets are expanding.

HOWELL: And when you think about exactly how these commandos went in, we understand that dozens of up and going in heavily armed, freeing 13 people. But we know 20 lost their lives. This particular operation -- the simple fact that many of these groups go in to kill as many people as possible. The simple fact that there were many freed is important.

FAZLI: It is important but I will say this, in general the way that the government has tackled this problem has been very heavy handed. We, you know, there was recently an ostensible crackdown where more than 14,000 people were reportedly arrested. There is very little information about who was picked up. Civil society organizations are reporting police extortion and abuses while the political opposition was alleging that it was primarily targeting opposition activists.

This, you know, this problem is going to be dealt with through a law enforcement approach that is grounded in investigation and intelligence gathering. Not swat teams.

HOWELL: I will also ask you the same question I asked earlier, because when it comes to the Bangladeshi government dealing with the topic of terrorism there, you can find sort of a mixed response. In fact, almost the denial that that it's actually happening there. We talked earlier about many of the individual targets. People have been targeted and killed, hacked to death. Now we are seeing this terrible attack carried out overnight and into the morning. Will the Bangladeshi government have to do more to address what seems to be an issue?

FAZLI: Certainly, it's -- signals to the public have been extremely mixed. On the one hand, it has accused the political opposition for these killings, saying this is another method for them to destabilize the country no that they stopped the massive speech agitation of -- a year ago.

And on the other hand, what they said about the secular and atheist bloggers is, hey, you know, don't abandon religious sentiment. If you do, we got be held responsible for the consequences. The government needs to be much clearer to the Bangladeshi public about who they are going to hold accountable for these attacks.

HOWELL: Shehryar Fazli, thank you so much for your time today. And we'll stay in touch with you as we continue to follow this story.

FAZLI: Thank you.

HOWELL: A man that one U.S. official calls enemy number one in a turbulent part of Russia may have organized Turkey's attacks. We'll have the latest in a live report just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:57] HOWELL: Welcome back to "CNN newsroom". I'm George Howell. We continue following the breaking news out of Bangladesh, 20 victims have been found inside a cafe there as of -- that was under siege for about 13 hours.

The army says they were killed with sharp weapons and that all of them were foreigners. 13 other hostages were rescued at standoff began when gunmen stormed the popular restaurant, Friday evening in Dhaka's diplomatic order. Heavily armed attackers also killed two police officers in a gun battle. Commandos later raided that restaurant. That's how the siege ended. Bangladeshi officials say that six gunmen were killed. ISIS is claiming responsible but U.S. officials say that it sounds more likely to be an operation carried out by al-Qaeda.

We are also following the terrorist attack in Turkey. In other news, we'd like to update you on. A U.S. official says the man that orchestrated Tuesday's attack at the Istanbul airport is a top ISIS soldier. The Congressman says the organizer came from Russia's North caucus's region.

Turkish news identified two of the three attackers. They believe they are from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. State media report, authorities have detained two dozen people in connection with that investigation.

CNN is following this with our team coverage. Our senior Internation Correspondent Nima Elbagir is live in Istanbul with the latest and Clare Sebastian, live in Moscow this hour. Nima, I'd like to start with you, what more do we know about this suspect?

NIMA ELBAGIR, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that he goes by the moniker of "One-Arm Akhmed". He is meant to hold a scene -- he's believed to hold a senior position in ISIS, his war ministry. And as you rightly said, he is very much feared in Russia. He is a possibly Uzbek regiment, one of the most active of the ISIS regiment.

This really reenforces what we heard quite early on from senior Turkish officials that the belief that this was planned at the very highest level inside ISIS and that Akhmed Chatayev who's where about currently unknown but has been moving back and forth in Syria. Had a crucial role overseeing this, the commissioning, the plotting and possibly the execution of it.

The Turkish authorities, this just adds a new sense of urgency. And you were speaking about these continued arrests. And the numbers of those detained going up. They've known for a while that they've had a home-grown terror network that they've been having to contend within two of those attacks in recent months that ISIS was believed have carried out.

There's al-Qaeda by Turkish citizens. But now with this reinforcement of the working assumption that ISIS itself, insights here. Former headquarters was able to move operatives in this country. Well, that just brings new sense of urgency to all those searches and all of their interrogations. Because they need to know who else is in the country. Who could possibly be making their escape? And they need to know that to be able to stop whatever else is in the works, George.

HOWELL: Senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir, live for us. Thank you so much for your reporting. I'd like to now go to Russia with Clare Sebastian.

[05:20:08] Clare, what are we hearing from Moscow? What reaction? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN REPORTING: George, so far the Russian authorities has been distancing themselves from -- there's report coming out of Turkey that are Russians and these one Russian was involved in the actual bombing that he was one of the suicide bombers.

As for Akhmed Chatayev, the man who -- that U.S. official believed who have orchestrated the attack. What we're today from the Interior Ministry court in the Russian media saying that he had Georgian citizenship and that he left for Syria in 2015. Interestingly George, the way this is be only starting to be reported in the Russian media is that, you know, he had a refugee stated in Australia.

He's believed to have moved around Europe and they are saying that any of these countries could have stopped this happening. We know Russia has wanted this man for a long time for alleged terrorist activities in its soil. You know, he's believed to start it in Tunisian wars in the late 90's and for men Russians have wanted him for various activities.

So, you know, his whereabouts, he's memo was saying still unknown. And the Russian authorities have not commented on his possible involvement in the Turkish airport bombing. But as I said, very much they are -- they do seem to be keeping an eye on this story George.

HOWELL: Clare, thank you. And Nima, one other question to you. Given what we now know about this suspect, given what we know about the attacks, what type of security measure or precautions are being taken now?

ELBAGIR: Well, already in the immediate after mass of the attack, the Turks came out quite strongly and said part of their concern is what could have been done differently. And they believe what could have - should have been done differently is that there should have been armed officers at that initial entry point to the airport compound.

And Istanbul already the heavily secured airport. We've been hearing throughout from U.S. officials that this was a very good security set up. But they accept that given the threat since Istanbul, given the sequence of terror attacks that this country has been reeling from that more should have been done.

So there will now be counter terror officers at that initial search point coming into to the airport compound. And we've seen a height in the security presence on the streets of Istanbul. But the reality is that Turkey has had to deal with this for a while. They know that they have been a target. And these are questions they're now being asked knowing that. Should it already have been at the highest possible alert? George, this is -- as this country still struggled to come to terms with what has been happening here for some months now. These are the questions that the Turkish parliament and Turkey's leadership are going to have answer.

HOWELL: Nima, thank you and Clare, important to point out the context here. This is a time where we're seeing improved and thought relations between Russia and Turkey. So, given what happened in this terrible attack we would expect that there will be more security sharing.

SEBASTIAN: Absolutely George. This comes to a in a week where we saw a dramatic turn around in relations between Russia and Turkey that left us from Prime Minister Erdo?an on a Monday saying expressing regret for the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet in November. That of course led to a tore in relations.

Russia saying that it was ready to restart tourism which was stopped during after six to seven months and they're even talking about restarting trade. Mr. Putin -- President Putin and Mr. Erdo?an expected to meet now in the next few months before the G20 Summit. So, yes definitely ascend to cooperation they'll soon to be stepping up now between these two countries after a period of very, very bad relations.

HOWELL: Clare Sebastian, live for us in Moscow. Nima Elbagir also live for us in Istanbul. We appreciate your reporting from both of you this day. Thank you.

As families of those who lost loved ones, as they continue to mourn. Our Jomana Karadsheh has the heart breaking story. One of the youngest victims, a young Palestinian girl who escaped with her life has lost a parent.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three-year old Rafeef survived the horror of Tuesday's attack. Her mother Asreen (ph) did not. No one can explain to Rafeef what happened or where her mother is. Members of Turkey's Palestinian community are taking care of Rafeef. Keeping her distracted and smiling.

Her father Marwan can barely speak. He lost his wife, his friend Hammed lost his wife too. Hammed is still on hospital in critical condition. His three-year old son Riyan (ph) is on life support. The two Palestinian families arrived from Saudi Arabia where they lived for short holiday in Istanbul as they prepared to leave the airport, the terrorists struck. Rafeef was in her mother's arms when Asreen (ph) was shot dead. Rafeef was hit by shrapnel in her leg.

They came say they came to fight a military and oppressors. They walked amongst us. They could see children, Marwan says. The family lives so many here are Muslims.

[05:25:11] People who claim to be Muslims with no mercy. I will teach my daughter not to hate to love everyone. I will give her the best life, he says.

On Thursday night Marwan returned to the airport to put his wife's coffin on a plane. He led an Islamic prayer for the dead. Marwan had promise (inaudible) he will take her home to the town and in territories to celebrate the Muslim festival of grievance (inaudible) for their family. Instead, they will gather to mourn her.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

HOWELL: This is "CNN Newsroom". Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is "CNN Newsroom". I'm George Howell and we continue following the breaking news.

This deadly hostage situation, the standoff that ended in the Bangladesh's capital. Attackers killed 20 foreigners inside of a cafe in Dhaka with what are being called sharp weapons. The military was able to free 13 of the hostages and they shoot six gunmen and killed them.

The Bangladeshi and prime minister, one of the gunmen was captured. That standoff lasted for more than half a day, some 13 hours.

On Friday night when it started, the terrorist killed two police officers and they wounded 40 other people. Following this said situation, we go now to CNN Sumnima Udas, live in New Delhi with us this hour.

[05:30:08] Sumnima, thank you for being with us this day, so what more do we know about the investigation and the victims in this case?

UDAS: Well as you said, George, we know that 20 people have died. Among -- all 20 of them are foreigners. That's according to the military. They also said that sharp weapons were used according to the prime ministers in Turkey, people were rescued, three of them were foreigners including one Japanese national and we believed two Sri Lankans as well now.

The Japanese national, he is injured but not in a critical condition and we believe -- according to officials in Japan, that he was with seven other Japanese colleagues at the restaurant, five males and two females, we don't know the fate of those other seven Japanese nationals.

Of course, yesterday, during that gun fight, two police officers, Bangladeshi police officers were killed and 30 were injured according to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister. And as the Prime Minister said in the press conference, six terrorist have been killed, one of them has been captured. George.

HOWELL: Sumnima, it there is still some uncertainly. ISIS is claiming responsibility but we're hearing from U.S. officials that in fact they believed that this might have been carried out by al-Qaeda. What more are you hearing about that?

UDAS: Much are pretty soon after the siege began really, where the hostage situation began. ISIS claimed responsibility -- is responsibility through its media affiliate there and soon also officials in the U.S. and many analyst there had questioned this because they said that the ISIS is not really that involved in Bangladesh or in the Indian subcontinents whereas al-Qaeda has much larger presence in Bangladesh. And of course we don't know who's behind it for sure. Given the fact that there is one terrorist who has been captured, perhaps we will know more then.

But a lot of security analyst had been saying that al-Qaeda and ISIS have -- and of course there's a lot of other local militants groups as well in Bangladesh. All of them had been trying to sort of claim responsibility for a number of this attacks against bloggers, atheist, writers, you know, people from the minority groups there, Hindu, priest, Buddhist monk.

And so there's a bit of a turf war if you will and given the fact that Bangladesh is such a large Muslim population about a 150 million people live there, 90 percent of them are Muslims. So you can understand why these terrorist groups or militant group would want to try to attract publicity and attention in a country like Bangladesh, George.

HOWELL: And also doing it in some, you know a method that we have seen before. Using this soft target. Using an Artisan cafe, an unlikely target.

UDAS: That's right. I've been -- as we've been reporting for but basically two years now. There's been many attacks against writers, bloggers, intellectuals, people from minority groups, some 40 people at, more that 40 people have been killed but there have all been attacks against individuals, that one or two people, what usually happens is that one or two people would arrived in motorcycles, they would kill this individuals with machetes and then run off.

Now, ISIS has claimed responsibility for some of these attacks. But again, every time that happens, the Bangladeshi government has always said that ISIS is not present in Bangladesh and has always attributed these attacks to whom growing militants. Now, this we, you know, as the Prime Minister said, this is unprecedented. There has never really been an attacked like this.

In a cafe, an attack against so many peoples in the diplomatic area in Dhaka with there some of the restaurants, cafes. An area where a lot of expats would frequent. So this is incredibly rare and this is what has shocked a lot of Bangladeshis today, George.

HOWELL: Sumnima Udas live for us in New Delhi. Thank you so much for your reporting. And Sumnima we'll stay in touch with you.

Our international editor Nic Robertson his live in London right now to give us more context on this breaking news story that will follow it. Nic, it's good to have you this hour.

So I'd like to start by talking about the singular issue of terrorism.

[05:35:02] Given the fact that we have seen other attacks, these targeted attacks on secular bloggers and such and the government has been criticized for not doing enough in fact, as even Sumnima pointed out, denying in some cases that terrorism is a problem. But now this attack, it's still unclear who is behind it but what do you make of it?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, what you've had in Bangladesh over the past three years also is a growing gap on a growing struggle if you will between secularists and Islamist and on the Islamist side you have al-Qaeda and ISIS trying to sort of gain influence over some of the historic Islamist groups that exist within Bangladesh.

We've seen them both claiming attacks recently. If you look at the way that they play them and just analyze over the past few months for example where we have seen a particular uptick, ISIS is the organization that has claimed the stabbing and machete attacks on a Hindu doctor on a university, a Hindu professor on a Hindu businessman that they've been going also to the minorities.

They have a track record of going after foreigners whereas, al-Qaeda, their affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent and so Islam is where its roots are inside Bangladesh, at least. They say that they've been targeting the LGBT community, the bloggers there.

What both side, what both the Islamist sides believe that they are doing is protecting Islam because they feel that the government has been cracking down on the Islamist groups of decades ago, executing in may of this year and at the end of December in 2013, leaders of some of those groups and there is this ups well, if you will, of the belief that they need to protect Islam and we've seen those attacks.

So broadly speaking, ISIS who have claimed this attack have been attacking foreigners in brutal knife and machete attacks. And al- Qaeda has been attacking the bloggers, you know, secular bloggers, bloggers blogging about the LGBT issues, for example. And al-Qaeda also released a statement saying that Americans were trying to spread homosexuality within Bangladesh.

The track record here, both organizations using knifes and machetes in attacks. ISIS who claim this in the past have tended to single out more foreigners than people with a more secularist identity, LGBT bloggers for example. And in case, we know that the death toll includes 20 foreigners.

Now, we don't know the nationality of many of the other people that were able escape. But the picture that emerges is perhaps concurrent with what ISIS claims that they are responsible because they've targeted foreigners but it's too soon to say, far too soon to say and certainly in this pool of radical of Islamist, both al-Qaeda and ISIS are fishing for support and in both looking for dominance not just there but globally.

HOWELL: I want to push further on that because again we talk about these two groups. We talk about al-Qaeda and the Indians of confident. We talked about ISIS but there are many subgroups within those groups. And is it fair to say that these groups are competing with one another with each other to carry out their message and their fear mocker?

ROBERTSON: Absolutely they are. Look, if you look at the -- in the aftermath, within two days of the attack at the Islamabad Airports, you had al-Qaeda in Syria Jabhat al-Nusra saying that this was an Islamic attack because it killed Muslims. What it was saying is, ISIS has gone out here whatever is the gender is, has gone out here and killed Muslims.

And this is what al-Qaeda and its leadership Ayman al Zawahiri believed can win support back to their site. Back to al-Qaeda and away from ISIS. ISIS being too radical. If you go back a month or so ago, you have al-Qaeda on the Indian subcontinent which it has its roots and mouthpiece if you will in the sort of Afghan-Pakistan border area. Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of that. You have al-Qaeda on the Indian subcontinent saying that an ISIS attack in Pakistan on the Bacha KhanUniversity near Charsada was unIslamic because it killed Muslims.

So you have, you know, you have here al-Qaeda trying to show that ISIS is not acting on the best interests of Muslims, is unIslamic and therefore, al-Qaeda struggling against a vision across the world of ISIS leading the principle Jihadist attacks of ISIS trying to claim back that Jihadi mantle saying we are the purist.

ISIS is killing Muslims.

[05:40:05] In this attack in Bangladesh, it's significant that it is foreigners here who make up most in the death toll that we have seen so far, again, we don't know their religion.

HOWELL: And we'll have to wait to determine exactly who is behind these attacks. Certainly, the person who was, you know, taken -- the gunman who was taken and will be questioned by investigators will lend insight into that big burning question here.

Our International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson, live for us in London. Nic, thank you so much for the insight and always for the reporting.

This is CNN "Newsroom".

And still ahead, one of the men now in the best position in Britain's next Prime Minister is someone who insists he never wanted the job. There he is. Behind that story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: I want to update you now on the breaking news that we're following, the hostage takers in Bangladesh's capital who killed 20 foreigners inside of a cafe. The military says that sharp weapons were used to kill those victims. Troops were able to free 13 of the hostages. They've shot 6 gunmen to death to bring that siege to an end. It lasted more than half a day.

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister says one of the gunmen was captured. On Friday night, when it started, the terrorist killed two police officers and they wounded 40 other people. That cafe is in Dhaka's diplomatic square. One of the cafe's employees described how the standoff started. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHUMON REZA, CAFE EMPLOYEE, (Through Translation): They were shooting in the air. They didn't shoot to hit anyone, just to create fear. So later, the guests were all lying on the ground under the chairs and tables. And we escaped in whichever safe way we could.

[05:45:04] Some went to the roof, others went to other safe spots. At the end, there were about 15.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: We also continue to follow the Brexit events in the United Kingdom. Anti-Brexit demonstrators will be out on the streets of London soon to voice their disapproval of the U.K. leaving the E.U. London was a stronghold in the failed Remain campaign as you'll remember.

Britain's Finance Minister warns that the economic fallout for Brexit that it could be grim. Just one week after that stunning vote, George Osborn says it's no longer realistic for the British government to balance its budget by 2020.

Earlier in the week, he said spending cuts and tax increases that they were on the way. Speaking on Friday, he said, the deficit remains a top concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE OSBORNE, U.K. CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: When I became the chancellor six years ago. One out in every four, we were spending on things was borrowed in this country and -- as a government. And we got our deficit now down to a full cost of less than 3 percent this year. And it's incredibly important we maintain physical credibility, that we are tough on the deficit while being realistic about achieving the surplus by the end of the decade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The referendum on Britain's place in the E.U. has left the fractured country and it's also left the fractured party. And now, candidates are rushing to fill the vacancy left by David Cameron.

One day after frontrunner, Boris Johnson, said that he would not seek the rime minister job, as many believe that he would. Justice Secretary Michael Gove laid out his vision for leadership.

Our Isa Soares has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As political entrances go, this hasn't been a smooth one. We didn't get an answer to that. But just 24 hours after abandoning his closest ally and friend, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove was not only a man with a plan ...

MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH JUSTICE SECRETARY: ... that we need to reboot and renew our democracy.

SOARES: ... but a man standing up for his convictions. GOVE: All I can pledge is that I will always be guided by principle. I will govern as captain of a team and I will always, always put my country and our people above everything.

SOARES: His was a lengthy vision, 5,000 words long. Gove promises from a man who was always been reluctant to take the job.

GOVE: I did not want it. Indeed, I did almost everything I could not to be a candidate for the leadership of this party.

SOARES: But after the political week, that was, some may find it hard to believe his intention, trust, his directions and perhaps even stand by him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you going to back? Tell us who you'll back?

SOARES: Boris Johnson could be among them. After all, he felt the immediate impact of Michael Gove's ambition.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is politics in the raw and this is down to basic ambition of leading politicians wrestling for a job. And Michael Gove is now a man with blood on his hands politically. He deserted David Cameron and George Osborn in order to fight the Leave campaign. He's now deserted Boris Johnson who was his chosen figure head for the Leave campaign.

SOARES: Still this political ruthlessness isn't putting some MPs off from supporting him.

DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT CONSERVATIVE PARTY: No one thought that they'd been prison buddies for years. What we did have, though, is a man with great talent and energy and Boris Johnson. And what we are looking for Chancellor is anchor a team around that's the focused and effective. And we support for that at the away despite our best ethics to make it work and it became clear, but actually Michael should put himself forward.

SOARES: To some, this is a tale of political treachery, for others, this is just another fiery day in British politics. The necessary steps to being a prime minister.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

HOWELL: This is "CNN Newsroom". Still ahead, our breaking news coverage continues of the terror attacks in Bangladesh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:40] JONATHAN MANN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jonathan Mann and this is your "Road to Rio" update. Russian runner, Yuliya Stepanova, who blew the whistle on the Russian doping scandal, may get the chance to compete in the Olympics this year without her discredited team. Global track and field officials approved her application to compete as an individual athlete. The final decision is now up to the International Olympic Committee, which is reviewing the case. Rio de Janeiro's Transportation Secretary announced that the city has received enough bailout money from the government so that it can now complete its subway system in time for the Olympics. The subway is to connect downtown Rio to the Olympic Village. The $895 million is also expected to contribute to security during the games.

And if you're looking for some Olympic souvenirs, the first official Rio 2016, megastore is opened in Copacabana Beach. Members of the Olympic refugee team cut the ribbon for the official opening. Olympic mascots, Vinicius and Tom, were also on hand to celebrate when the doors opened.

And Rio 2016 is up with a new game from mobile and tablet users. It's called Tom's Adventures and features one of the Olympic mascots. Users can help Tom collect several items in a game of hide and seek around the city. The app is available in both English and Portuguese.

That's your "Road to Rio" update. I'm Jonathan Mann.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN "Newsroom". I'm George Howell. And we continue following the breaking news. The hostage situation in Bangladesh's capital, it has ended with 20 civilians and two officers dead there.

The army says that all of the hostages who died were foreigners and that the attackers killed them with sharp weapons. The gunmen took over that bakery Friday night, troops later counterattacked, rescuing 13 hostages and shooting six gunmen killing them.

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister says one of the gunmen was captured and certainly, will be questioned by those investigators. One Japanese national and two Sri Lankans were also among the hostages rescued. Officials from both nations said, ISIS has claimed responsibility for this attack, but keep in mind, there is some uncertainty according to U.S. officials as to whether in fact, it might be a different group.

For more on this situation, let's go live to CNN's Sumnima Udas live in New Delhi.

Sumnima, so again, within the last couple of hours, we've learned that 20 civilians were killed in the standoff along with those two officers. What more have you learned or what are you hearing about what happened overnight and then through the morning?

UDAS: That's really the latest, George, 20 civilians killed. All 20 were foreigners. We do not know the nationalities of those 20 civilians at the moment. We do not know why, when they were killed, that it happened when the troops and the Bangladeshi troops stormed in. Did it happen before that? Did it happen after that? We do not know. But as you mentioned, as the Prime Minister has said, one of the terrorists has been captured. So hopefully, there will be more information coming in regarding all of those details.

[05:55:04] And of course, 13 hostages have been rescued as well. Out of those 13, three are believed to be foreigners, one of them Japanese, two of them Sri Lankans.

Now, the Japanese national he has been injured, but he is not in a critical condition. And according to Japanese officials, he was with seven other colleagues at the restaurant at the time. Now, we do not know the fate of those other seven colleagues.

So that's really the latest, George. It's been very difficult to get information for the longest time. There was a complete blackout really and then we can understand why given the tense situation, given the 12-hour siege.

But now, the military has held a press conference. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh as well. And that's really all the information that they have given us at the moment. George.

HOWELL: CNN Sumnima Udas live for us in New Delhi. Thank you so much for your reporting.

And again, recapping for our viewers around the world, this hostage situation, the standoff in Bangladesh's capital that lasted some 13 hours, it has ended with 20 people, 20 civilians killed there. Two police officers killed as well. 13 hostages released.

We will, of course, continue to follow this story here live on CNN.

We thank you for being with us this hour for "CNN Newsroom". I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta

"New Day" is next for viewers in the U.S. And for other viewers around the world, more of our special coverage on the Bangladesh terror attack continues after a short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:09] HOWELL: Welcome to our viewers around the world. This is "CNN Newsroom". I'm George Howell. And we continue following the breaking news story --