Updated | 20 hostages killed in Dhaka café siege, IS claim responsibility

Bangladeshi forces have cleared a cafe in the capital of Dhaka where gunmen had taken at least 20 hostages. All hostages killed were foreigners.

The attackers used guns, explosive devices and "a lot of sharp domestic weapons. The hostages' bodies were found after the standoff ended in the country's capital.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said 13 hostages were freed and six attackers shot dead, while one of the gunmen was arrested.

 The militant group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery.

"It was an extremely heinous act," Hasina said in a televised statement. "What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion. My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh."

Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said that one Japanese citizen was shot and wounded in the attack, and that seven others were in the cafe. He said that the Japanese government has not yet been able to contact them.

Seven Italian nationals are also believed to have been in the cafe, the Italian ambassador in Dhaka, Mario Palma, was quoted as saying by Italian media.

Sumon Reza, a supervisor at the cafe, was in the restaurant when the attack began but managed to flee to the roof, before jumping off and escaping.

"The whole building was shaking when they set off explosives," he told media in Bangladesh.

The identity of the rescued hostages and the fate of other captives believed to have been in the cafe were not immediately known.

At least two police officers were killed in exchanges of fire late on Friday, while 30 police officers were injured.

The attack began when eight or nine armed men burst into the cafe in the diplomatic area of the city at about 21:20 local time on Friday and opened fire. Media reports quoted witnesses as saying that the militants shouted "Allahu Akbar", meaning "God is great" in Arabic, as they entered the café.

Lt Col Tuhin Mohammad Masud, commander of the Rapid Action Battalion, told the Associated Press that the gunmen did not respond when asked to negotiate.

A statement on the IS's self-styled Amaq news agency said that militants had attacked a restaurant "frequented by foreigners". It said that more than 20 people "of different nationalities".