Dhaka: Relatives of foreign hostages murdered in a Bangladeshi restaurant were in Dhaka on Monday to take their loved ones’ bodies home as authorities made the first arrests over the killings.

Many were in tears as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid wreaths on the coffins of those killed in the siege at an upmarket cafe in the capital, by far the deadliest in a spate of recent attacks that have caused international alarm.

They included nine Italians, seven Japanese, a US citizen and a 19-year-old Indian student.

Witnesses say the perpetrators of the attack, which the Islamic State group has claimed, spared the lives of Muslims while herding foreigners to their deaths, killing many with machete-style weapons.

Among the mourners at the ceremony in a Dhaka stadium was Muksedur Rahman who described slain Italian textile trader Nadia Benedetti as a ‘great human being’ who had worked to help Bangladeshi survivors of acid attacks.

‘Nadia Benedetti had been working in Bangladesh for more than 20 years,’ Rahman, said a colleague of the Italian.

‘I can’t believe she had to die like this. We have to stand against such terrorism right now.’

Italy’s ambassador said Friday night’s attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe was ‘unprecedented’ and promised his country’s full support in tackling a rise in Islamist militancy in Bangladesh.

‘This unprecedented attack is also an attack on the very identity of Bangladesh,’ Mario Palma told reporters at the ceremony.

‘You deserve all the cooperation from your friends all over the world who supported you for your struggle to achieve independence.’

The government said the bodies of the Italians and Japanese victims would be handed over to diplomats later Monday before being flown home.

The Indian student’s body was also being flown back to her home town later on Monday.