Dhaka attacks: Three US varsity students among those killed in Bangladesh

Washington: Three students from US universities, including Indian girl Tarushi Jain, were among 20 hostages hacked to death by suspected Islamic State militants in a terror attack at a restaurant in Bangladesh capital’s high-security diplomatic zone. 18-year-old Tarushi was a student at UC Berkeley and was on vacation in Dhaka when the attack happened while two other students of Bangladeshi-origin — Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain — were studying at Atlanta’s Emory University. Abinta, who was from Miami, was a rising sophomore at Emory’s Oxford College while Faraaz, a junior from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university’s Goizueta Business School, Emory university officials said on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_2870100” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] “The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time,” the university said in a statement. The hostages were hacked to death by suspected Islamic State militants inside a cafe popular with expats in the diplomatic zone in Dhaka in the worst terror attack in Bangladesh before commandos launched an assault on Saturday killing six attackers and capturing one alive. The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from several US Senators, with Georgia lawmaker David Perdue asserting that “these senseless acts of terror must come to an end.” Mourning the loss of the two Emory students, Senator Perdue said innocent people were being massacred across the world at the hands of Islamic State. “These senseless acts of terror absolutely must come to an end. It is deeply disturbing to hear that two of the victims of the most recent attacks are Emory University students…keeping Abinta Kabir, Faraaz Hossain, and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers during this terrible time,” Perdue said. Florida Senator Marco Rubio said he was saddened to learn that Miami’s Abinta Kabir was among the victims. “My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Bangladesh and all those countries who lost citizens in this horrific attack” Rubio said.