Police killed three militants on Saturday, including the alleged mastermind of an attack on a Gulshan cafe in Dhaka last month in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed, said Bangladesh Inspector General of Police A.K.M Shahidul Hoque.

‘The operation went on for an hour. We can see three dead bodies. They did not surrender. They threw four-five grenades at police and fired from AK 22 rifles. A gunfight ensued when police officials retaliated’ said the national police chief.

‘Three extremists were killed. Among them, one of the dead persons looked exactly like the photo of Tamim Chowdhury that we have’, reports Reuters.

The militants were cornered in an early morning raid on their hideout in Naraynganj, on the outskirts of the capital, and were killed after refusing to surrender, Additional Commissioner of Police Monirul Islam said.

Analysts say Islamic State in April identified Chowdhury as its national commander.

The suspected Islamist militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigner hostages in the July 1 evening attack, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian before security forces stormed the eatery to end the 12-hour siege that has weighed on Bangladesh's multi-billion dollar garments industry.

The government says the July 1 attack — and another on July 26 in which police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault — were the work of domestic militants.