TOKYO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government confirmed on Saturday that 12 people, including two foreigners, had been rescued from an armed siege in a cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh, including one Japanese national who was wounded in the gunfight.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda told a press conference that investigations into the attack and the state of the Japanese hostages of which there may have been more than one caught up in the incident were ongoing.
Senior government officials also said they were trying to make contact with multiple Japanese nationals who may have been caught up in the attack and a lack of contact so far may indicate that more than one Japanese may have been taken hostage inside the cafe.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference that at least a Japanese citizen might be among the hostages that were being held at gunpoint or otherwise injured in the attack.
Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, with reports stating that as many as six gunmen entered the popular Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in the Gulshan region of Bangladeshi's capital Friday night and opened fire indiscriminately on the cafe's mainly foreign customers after detonating explosives.
Hundreds of local police along with Bangladesh military forces stormed the cafe and rescued the hostages hours later, local media sources reported.
Two police officers were killed during the operation and as many 30 people were wounded after the attack, reports have quoted local media as saying.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has set up an emergency task force at his office and instructed the relevant ministries to coordinate effectively with officials and the government in Bangladesh and other countries involved as necessary.
The Japanese government will also dispatch its counter-terrorism intelligence unit to Dhaka, officials here said.
The Japanese premier has canceled his election campaign plans for Saturday, his office said.
All Japanese living, visiting or planning to visit Bangladesh have been issued with a warning by the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo to remain vigilant in and around government, public transport facilities, popular tourist sites and places that attract a lot of people.
The ministry indicted a second wave of terror attacks could be possible as the IS has been increasingly targeting foreigners in Bangladesh since the end of last year.
