Tokyo: A Japanese government spokesman said on Saturday that 12 people had been rescued from a restaurant in Dhaka that was attacked by gunmen, according to Bangladeshi police.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said two of the people rescued were foreigners but it was uncertain whether or not Japanese citizens were among the rescued.

Heavily armed Bangladeshi commandos stormed a Dhaka restaurant on Saturday morning where suspected Islamist militants were holding dozens of people hostage, including foreigners, after a deadly firefight with police, officials said.