The jihadists who slaughtered 20 hostages at a Dhaka restaurant were members of a homegrown Bangladeshi militant outfit and not followers of the Islamic State group, a senior minister said Sunday.
"They are members of the Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP, referring to a group which has been banned in Bangladesh for more than a decade.
"They have no connections with the Islamic State."
Announcing a two-day state mourning for those killed in the worst terror attack in the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed to do everything to eliminate terrorists from the country and asked extremists to stop killing in the name of religion.
She asked all, including the general public, to get united to resist a "handful of terrorists".
Twenty hostages, including 19-year-old Indian girl Tarushi Jain, were hacked to death by terrorists inside the cafe popular with expats in the diplomatic zone before commandos launched an assault killing six attackers and capturing one alive.
Most of those killed were found with their throats slit.
Of the 20 hostages slain 9 were Italian, 7 Japanese, one American of Bangladeshi origin, and two were locals, the army said.
Among those rescued were Indian, Sri Lankan and Japanese nationals, media reports said. Around 30 people were injured.
Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency, nearly four hours after the hostage crisis unfolded.
