Authorities in the capital of Bangladesh say they are working to save the lives of people being held by gunmen in a restaurant popular with foreigners.
They say as many as nine gunmen attacked the restaurant in a diplomatic zone, taking hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces.
The head of an elite anti-crime force told reporters, "We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want."
A kitchen staffer who escaped the attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery says the attackers were armed with firearms and bombs as they entered the restaurant around 9:20 p.m. Friday and took customers and staffers hostage at gunpoint.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters: "We are aware of reports of what appears to a hostage situation in the Gulshan neighborhood of Dhaka." He said the embassy has accounted for 100 percent of American citizens that are under the authority of the diplomatic chief of mission in Dhaka.
Kirby said it was too early to say who was involved in the assault and their motivation.
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