Dhaka: One foreigner, probably Japanese, escaped from a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital on Saturday after police stormed the building to free 20 people trapped inside by gunmen, a police official said.

Local TV channels said at least 10 people, including two foreigners, had been rescued from the cafe, which gunmen attacked late on Friday. This could not immediately be confirmed.

Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, a deputy director at the Rapid Action Battalion force, told Reuters the foreigner escaped after more than 100 commandos launched an operation to secure the upmarket cafe in Dhaka.

The attack took place near the Nordic Club, where expatriates gather, and the Qatari, Italian and Egyptian embassies, as Bangladesh observes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

French ambassador Sophie Aubert said the restaurant was ‘very popular’ with diplomats and other foreigners in Dhaka.

The attack follows a series of killings targeting foreigners in Bangladesh that have been claimed by the Islamic State group.