As the country held services to mourn the victims of the siege in Dhaka, details emerged of how the attackers spared the lives of Muslims while herding foreigners to their deaths.
And although the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack at the Western-style cafe on Friday night, the government stuck to its line that international jihadist networks had not gained a foothold in Bangladesh.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP the killers -- six of whom were shot dead in the siege -- were members of the homegrown militant outfit Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh (JMB), a group banned over a decade ago.
"They have no connections with the Islamic State," Khan said.
National police chief Shahidul Hoque told reporters that investigators would explore the possibility of "an international link" but added that "primarily, we suspect they are JMB members".
The bodies of 20 hostages were found in pools of blood after commandos stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe to end the standoff, in which two policemen were also shot dead in a fierce gunbattle at its outset.
Six of the gunmen were killed by the commandos in the final stages of the siege, but one was taken alive and was being interrogated by Bangladeshi intelligence.
Security officials said most of the victims -- 18 of whom were foreigners -- were slaughtered with sharpened machete-style weapons.
