IS link not confirmed yet: US

The US State Department has said it “cannot yet confirm” the link of Middle-east-based terror group Islamic State (IS) with the hostage crisis at a restaurant in Bangladesh capital Dhaka though the group reportedly claimed credit for the attack.

“We have seen ISIL claims of responsibility, but cannot yet confirm and are assessing the information available to us,” US Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.

Issued after the crisis unfolded in Dhaka, the statement reads: “We join with the people of Bangladesh in expressing our outrage at this brutal act of terrorism and offer our condolences to the friends and families of the victims, including Bangladeshi law enforcement officials who have been killed or injured responding to the attack.” 

The US embassy in Dhaka has confirmed 100 percent accountability of all official American personnel with no injuries reported, the statement said. “We are working with the local authorities to determine if any US citizens and locally–employed staff were affected.”

As the news reached, the embassy issued a shelter-in-place order, it said. 

“This order was issued out of caution, but at no time was the embassy compound itself under immediate threat from this attack.”

The US officials are in “ongoing contact with the government of Bangladesh” as the situation continues to unfold, said the statement.

“We have offered our assistance in their efforts to bring to justice those responsible for these attacks and to combat terrorism and violent extremism.”