An act of terror’: Biden condemns Texas synagogue siege while FBI names Briton as hostage-taker.

All four hostages survived unharmed while Malik Faisal Akram, 44, was killed when FBI stormed synagogue after 11-hour standoffUS president Joe Biden has condemned a tense 11-hour hostage standoff at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday as “an act of terror”, as the FBI named the armed assailant as Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British national.

Akram was pronounced dead after the FBI stormed the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville on Saturday evening. All four hostages survived the siege and were unharmed, according to local police

UK security sources confirmed to the Guardian that the suspect had been a resident of Blackburn in Lancashire.

The standoff began during a Saturday morning service at the Reform synagogue in the affluent city of around 26,000 residents. The service was being live streamed on Facebook when a man with a British accent could be heard shouting off camera. The feed was eventually cut hours later and police were called at around 10.41am.

One male hostage, believed to be the synagogue’s rabbi, was released at around 5pm as negotiations continued throughout the day. Armed FBI officers stormed the building and rescued the three remaining hostages at around 9pm, authorities said. Details of the manner of Akram’s death have not been released.

Counter terrorism police in London confirmed they were liaising with their US counterparts on Sunday as the FBI confirmed an active investigation but added they believed Akram had acted alone.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, president Biden described the incident as “an act of terror” and confirmed he had been briefed by the US attorney general, Merrick Garland.

Asked by reporters how Akram could have procured weapons in the US, Biden said he did not have all the facts of the case but “the assertion was he got the weapons on the street. He purchased them when he landed.It was not immediately clear how long Akram had been in the US before carrying out the attack. The US Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about when Akram entered the country, and on what visa.

The president said he had contacted the synagogue’s rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker, who posted an account of the incident to Facebook on Sunday. “I am grateful that we made it out,” Cytron-Walker wrote. “I am grateful to be alive.”

In a statement issued earlier, Biden, praised the “courageous work” of law enforcement officials who responded to the scene and sent “love and strength” to the synagogue’s worshippers and to members of the Jewish community.

FBI special agent in charge, Matt DeSarno, said the hostage taker was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community, and there was no immediate indication that the man was part of any broader plan. But DeSarno said the agency’s investigation “will have global reach”.

During the live stream, Akram could be heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, who was convicted in 2010 of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas serving an 86-year sentence.