Jihadists have taken hostages in a Sydney Cafe

[Raphael]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=11374445

Source: NZ Herald

Up to 20 hostages are being held in an armed siege in a cafe in Sydney where an extremist flag was being held up in a window.

Witnesses reported seeing staff and customers sobbing as they were forced to stand with their hands pressed against the windows of the Lindt cafe.

At least two gunmen are believed to be involved in the siege but dozens of armed police have sealed off the streets surrounding the site.

One gunman is believed to have a shotgun and possibly an explosive device.
.....
The incident began just hours after a 25-year-old suspect was arrested in a terror raid in Sydney.

Officials have also evacuated the Opera House after reports of a suspicious device.

Ray Hadley, a 2GB radio station host, claimed the hostage-takers want to talk to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott live on air, the Guardian Australia reported.

A reporter for the newspaper at the scene said a man who appeared to be a priest was escorted into the cafe.

9 News reported one witness said: "Everyone was sitting down, the door was locked. There was one guy walking around with a hat and a beard."

Martin Place has been shut down and scores of police are surrounding the building after the alarm was raised about 9.45am (11.45am NZT).

An Islamic flag - black with white writing on it - has been held up to the glass.

The Seven Network newsroom, which is in a building opposite the cafe, has also been evacuated.
....
Other buildings in Martin Place, including the nearby Westpac building, have been cleared.

Workers in government buildings in Martin Place have been told to stay away from windows, The Daily Telegraph reported, while all traffic in and out of the area has been stopped.

Police have cordoned off the area to about 150m and a special police operations unit is outside the building.

"We're just recommending no one go near Martin Place at the moment," a NSW Police spokeswoman said.

Martin Place train station has been closed and public buses are being turned away.

The Sydney Opera House has also been evacuated, 9 News Sydney reported.

The airspace across the city is also in lockdown, with people reporting they are stuck at airports because Sydney airspace is closed, it tweeted.

© Copyright Original Source

[Cow Poke]

[DesertBerean]

Just checked Google...doesn't seem to be any update...

[rogue06]

Just checked Google...doesn't seem to be any update...

Some updates: https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/2577...-martin-place/

[pancreasman]

As far as I know there is only one guy. Some hostages have been let go. It's in a chocolate shop (!) The current view is that it's a lone loony whose great plan got muddled somehow. Let's hop it ends well.

[Raphael]

WhaleOil has a a life blogging updating information:
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/12/isis-comes-sydney/

Source: WhaleOil

20:43
Demands number "more than three", but they aren't being made public. Some of them are "difficult".

20:38
Police update is sketchy on details. Just speaking in generalities. Won't talk about operational matters. Emphasises it is an active operation. In short: somewhat of a waste of time.

20:09
Eight hours on, this is the summary:

Customers and staff of Lindt Cafe in Martin Place were taken hostage by at least one armed gunman in Sydney this morning at 9.45am AEDT (11:45 NZ time)

Five people, three men and two women, have fled the cafe. It is not known how many hostages there are but NSW deputy policy commissioner, Catherine Burn, said it is not more than 30. One of the hostages is in hospital in a “satisfactory condition”.

There is at least one offender. In general it is thought to be just one, but this has not been confirmed.

The hostages were forced to raise a black flag with white writing. It has been wrongly reported as a flag of Islamic State. The flag appears to bear the Shahada, an Islamic creed which reads: “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.” It can be a benign symbol and appears across the Islamic world, including on the Saudi Arabian flag. But it has also been embraced by jihadi groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate currently fighting in Syria.

NSW Police have confirmed they are operating on counter terror protocols.

Hostages have contacted at least three separate media outlets saying the hostage taker has two demands - to talk to the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and to have an Isis flag delivered to the cafe.

One male hostage is in Hospital with an unknown condition.

© Copyright Original Source

[Cow Poke]

Dynamic Entry, many hostages coming out. Police storming cafe, 4 coming out on gurneys.

[DesertBerean]

Saw the clips on the news. Most frightful gunfire. Shudder. Reminded me too much of the live gunfire televised during the manhunt here up in the mountains couple years ago. I notice that the cops in the video stayed put during all that. Another reminder of the manhunt...they showed them seemingly calm while all that gunfire went on.

Me, I would've run away as far as I could.

Hope everybody survives this.

[Leonhard]

Dynamic Entry, many hostages coming out. Police storming cafe, 4 coming out on gurneys.

[DesertBerean]

Apparently the suspect is an Iranian Shi'te? Hope I spelled that right. Really? He wanted the flag of a Sunni terror group (ISIS)? Interesting...wait and see, I guess.

[Cow Poke]

Apparently the suspect is an Iranian Shi'te? Hope I spelled that right. Really? He wanted the flag of a Sunni terror group (ISIS)? Interesting...wait and see, I guess.

Yeah, it's possible he's just a nut, and his nuttism ran in the direction of ISIS, since that's in the news. It seems even Iran kicked him out.

[Leonhard]

Yeah, it's possible he's just a nut, and his nuttism ran in the direction of ISIS, since that's in the news. It seems even Iran kicked him out.

Apparently he was known for sexual harrasment, and did astrology and a lot of other hocum services prior to this. Looks like a loon who got inspired by what was happening on tv.

[Cow Poke]

Apparently he was known for sexual harrasment, and did astrology and a lot of other hocum services prior to this. Looks like a loon who got inspired by what was happening on tv.

Yeah, pretty much from what I've seen so far. But the jury is still out!

Meanwhile, I started a thread about you!

[Epoetker]

Apparently he was known for sexual harrasment, and did astrology and a lot of other hocum services prior to this. Looks like a loon who got inspired by what was happening on tv.

So basically, Australian immigration policy is how the rest of the world can make itself a better place by offloading their 'loons' there. I had thought that civilization involved a state becoming something more than just a penal colony where random horrific acts of violence are a matter of daily life, but you did ditch the "White Australia" policy.