An Iranian gunman, Man Haron Monis, who held 17 hostages inside a Sydney cafe was killed by police early Tuesday morning.
Two hostages were also reported killed after the police raided the building.
Monis forced hostages to display a black and white jihadist during the 16 hour standoff in the café windows.
Monis told hostages that he was in possession of a bomb and had two accomplices that planted bombs in other locations in the city. No other information has come to light regarding these claims.
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed.Police have not publicly identified the gunman but a police source named him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan. He was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the gunman was well known to authorities and had a history of extremism and mental instability.
During the siege at the Lindt cafe in Sydney’s central business district, hostages had been forced to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack in the heart of the country’s biggest city.
Around 2 a.m. local time (10.00 a.m. ET on Monday), at least six people believed to have been held captive managed to flee after gunshots were heard coming from the cafe.
Police then moved in, with heavy gunfire and blasts from stun grenades echoing from the building.
“They made the call because they believed at that time if they didn’t enter there would have been many more lives lost,” said Andrew Scipione, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales.
An investigation would determine whether hostages were killed by the gunman or died in cross-fire, Scipione told reporters just before dawn.
A gun free zone didn’t work out too good for two of these people did it! The people in Australia did it to themselves. They let their communist leaders in parliament disarm them. Now they have home invasions going through the roof, and many other crimes going out of control. If the people ‘Down Under’ don’t remove these politicians from power and reverse the laws they passed then they deserve what they get. Sorry, but you asked for it. Don’t feel too bad, however, because our communist politicians in Congress are trying to do the same thing to us.
GOOD FOR THEM. GLAD OTHERS SAFE
guess the disarmed people have all become sheep being led to slaughter by the muslims in that country
Superman is better than all of them!
Any person with common sense knows that when a muslim tries to kill or take hostages it definitely has to do with islam.
Lol all I saw were comments on guns, where did you get god from?
the only good terrorist is a dead one
good
This was one of the peaceful Muslims they talk about .
Americans should shoot and kill all radical, invading muslims on sight. Don’t let these rag heads take over our country or, intimidate us into submission. Kill all rag heads!