Dhaka: A timeline of the deadly hostage crisis as it unfolded from Friday night in Bangladesh:
Friday
8:45 pm - Heavily armed gunmen enter the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic zone. Witnesses report hearing explosions.
10 pm - Two policemen are injured in firing and throwing of bombs or a grenade by the gunmen who have taken over the restaurant, with some 35 people inside.
10:30 pm - Explosions heard from inside the restaurant.
10:55 pm - Bakery worker Sumon Reza escapes from the restaurant and says the attackers shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) when they entered.
11:20 pm - Bangladesh security asks TV channels to stop live broadcasts, citing security reasons. A security official says authorities are trying to listen for demands from the militants, and that saving the hostages is the first priority.
Saturday
1 am - The two officers who were hit by bullets in the initial police response to the crisis succumb to their injuries in a hospital, according to police.
1:33 am - Islamic State claims responsibility for Gulshan attack, says SITE Intelligence monitoring agency.
4 am - Gunshots are heard again from inside the restaurant.
6:10 am - Bangladesh security and Rapid Action Battalion say they are ready to launch a rescue operation.
7:40 am - A joint strike team, led by a newly formed paramilitary force, storms the restaurant and secures the area.
7:48 am - Heavy firing and explosions continue.
8:30 am - "Operation Thunderbolt" ends.
12:45 pm - Military operations chief says 13 hostages rescued. Bodies of 20 hostages, most slain with machetes or sharp weapons, are found. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemns the attack and says six gunmen were killed and one suspect arrested.
3:50 pm - India's foreign minister says Tarishi Jain, a student at UC-Berkeley, was among the hostages killed.
6:30 pm - Pope Francis condemns the Dhaka restaurant attack as an "offense against God and humanity."
7:45 pm - Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni says the bodies of nine Italians have been identified among the dead.
8:45 pm - Japan's government confirms seven Japanese development workers were killed.
Midnight- Police release photographs of bodies and names of five militants killed inside the restaurant.
