Indian girl Tarishi Jain among 20 killed in Dhaka cafe siege

New Delhi/Dhaka: An Indian teenager was among 20 foreigners who were killed after being taken hostage by a group of attackers at an upmarket cafe in the Bangladeshi capital.

Tarishi Jain, 19, was caught up in the horrific 11-hour siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery, a Western-style cafe popular with foreigners located in the diplomatic quarter of the capital.

"I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarishi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter.

Swaraj said she had spoken to the girl's grief-stricken father and conveyed her condolences to him.

"The country is with them in this hour of grief," she tweeted.

Jain had finished her schooling from the American School in Dhaka and was pursuing her studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Swaraj added.

Tarishi's father has been running a garment business in Bangladesh for last 15-20 years.

The Bangladesh army said most of the slain civilians were either Italian or Japanese and that many had been hacked to death with sharpened weapons.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack in a post on Twitter.

"The attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words. I spoke to (Bangladesh) PM Sheikh Hasina and strongly condemned the despicable attack," he tweeted.

An Indian doctor was also taken hostage but was among the eight people rescued on Saturday morning.

According to sources, Dr. Satyapal speaks fluent Bengali and came out as one of the Bangladeshis. The others rescued are all Bangladeshis.

Besides the lone Indian, others who were killed included Italians, Japanese, South Koreans and Bangladeshis.

Around three to four people are undergoing treatment in Dhaka, including two Sri Lankans, a Japanese and an Italian.

The Bangladeshi staff of the bakery rescued in the morning have been segregated by police for interrogation.

Three people escaped on Friday night, including an Italian and a Japanese when the attack started.

The siege ended on Saturday morning, with the killing of six terrorists, and the capture of one gunman. Thirteen hostages were rescued.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Saturday and condemned the "despicable attack" in Dhaka.

"My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who are injured recover quickly," the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets.

Modi asserted that India "stands firmly with our sisters and brothers of Bangladesh" in this hour of grief.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi PM Hasina has announced two days of national mourning for the brutal attack.

(With agency inputs)