A man with flower

8 years ago on this day, there was a brutal militant attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery. As a photojournalist, I was an eyewitness to the incident and was there till the end of the rescue operation. This bakery was opened in memory of all those killed on the occasion of the first anniversary of this incident. That day suddenly an Italian citizen appeared there with two bouquets. He walked quietly to the main altar in front of the stairs of the Holey Artisan. He stood there silently, praying silently. Leaving a bouquet there, he left with another bouquet in his hand.

In addition to the 20 hostages—nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, one Indian, and one Bangladesh-born US citizen were killed. The attackers also bombed and killed two police officers who tried to end the siege soon after it began around 8:40 pm on July 1, 2016.

The 11-hour hostage situation ended when army commandos stormed the café in the high-security diplomatic zone around 8:00 am on July 2, 2016. In the operation, codenamed Thunderbolt, five militants and a chef of the café were killed.