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Old 15-12-14, 15:02   #15
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Update VIDEOs/PhOtOs-Sydney-Terrorist Took Hostages-SIEGE Now Over

Lights Out at Siege Cafe as Stand-Off Enters 12th Hour: One Gunman was 'Extremely Agitated' When Five Hostages Escaped as Witnesses Report Seeing Food Being Brought for Those Trapped Inside

Gunman stormed a cafe in central Sydney during morning rush hour and took at least 15 people hostage

He forced hostages to hold up black flag with white writing in Arabic, an emblem linked to terror groups

Two women and three men were able to flee the Lindt cafe in Sydney's Martin Place


The gunman became 'extremely agitated' after the five escaped, a witness said


As night fell, food was seen being brought from the cafe kitchen for the hostages

Lights went out in the cafe, though police declined to say if they cut power to the building

Police commanders say they will be patient while no one has been injured and want to end the siege without violence


Daily Mail Australia, 15 December 2014


As many as 15 hostages seized by a gunman who stormed a Sydney cafe at morning rush hour are facing a terrifying night as a siege in the centre of the city continued after dark, hours after five captives made a courageous break for freedom.



Witnesses saw food prepared in the cafe's kitchen brought out to the remaining hostages, thought to number between ten and 15, as the stand-off with heavily armed police entered its twelfth hour.

The drama began unfolding around 9,30 am, when a gunman entered the cafe, located in one of busiest plazas in Sydney's central business district, and pulled a shotgun from a blue carry bag and disabled the doors to the business.

Soon afterwards, hostages were seen with their hands pressed against the windows holding up the Islamic Shahada flag. It is an emblem of extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is fighting the Assad government in Syria. The man was described as wearing a headband with Arabic writing on it.

Scores of police rushed to the scene, evacuating surrounding buildings and closing off part of the city. The scene sent shockwaves across Australia, where terror attacks have rarely touched home soil.

Paramilitary police armed with automatic rifles spent all day Monday surrounding the cafe, but senior commanders said they would be taking a patient approach to the siege and hoped to end it through negotiation with the gunman.

A total of five hostages, including barista Elly Chen, managed to escape the cafe by scrambling out a side door about seven hours into the drama. Fear etched on their faces, they ran into the arms of waiting police.
It is understood the hostages escaped from the cafe, rather than being released by their captor. One former male hostage has been taken to nearby St Vincent's Hospital, in Sydney's inner suburbs, and is being treated for a pre-existing condition.
The gunman flew into a rage when he realised some of his captives had escaped.

'The gunman could be seen from here getting extremely agitated, shouting at remaining hostages,' tweeted journalist Chris Reason, who has a direct line of sight into the cafe from the Seven Network newsroom directly opposite and inside the police cordon.

The light inside the building has gone off tonight, Mr Reason said, but police would not reveal whether it was a law enforcement or hostage-taker tactic.
Police negotiators have learned the name of the man and have made contact.
This evening, Mr Reason said he could see the gunman rotating the hostages through positions in the store's window.

'From inside Martin Place we can see the faces of hostages - pained, strained, eyes red and raw,' he recounted. Food and water was also being delivered to the prisoners from the cafe's back kitchens.

Seven Network staff have counted around 15 hostages in the cafe, he said, rather than the 50 reported by Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane earlier on Monday.

Scroll down for videos






A young female employee came running out of the Lindt cafe shortly before 5pm and was sheltered by waiting police







Another distraught female worker, cafe barista Elly Chen, bolted from the shop before taking cover with police




A total of five hostages have now escaped Lindt cafe - it's believed they escaped and were not released





One of the young female employees was visibly upset as she grabbed hold of armed police





'Omg Elly!! So glad you're OK': Ms Chen, pictured, was the fifth hostage, scrambling from the cafe with her hands in the air





Freedom: Ms Chen was helped to a cover letter immediately after he burst from the Lindt Cafe store








As night fell, the lights went out in the cafe and witnesses described food being brought out from the cafe kitchen for the remaining hostagesDaily Mail Australia understands a 25-year-old female fashion industry worker and two female baristas aged in their 30s are among that number.As scores of heavily armed police, clad in black, remained on guard in Martin Place, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione tonight said police would do whatever it takes for the situation to be peacefully resolved.

The hostage taker is believed to have demanded a flag of the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria and to talk to Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Sydney was eerily quiet on Monday night.

Office buildings went into lockdown earlier this morning, Martin Place train station - a central thoroughfare for workers - was shuttered. Events at the Opera House, such as a performance of the Nutcracker, were cancelled as the city icon was evacuated.Hundreds of heavily armed police, operating under unprecedented Task Force Pioneer counter-terrorism protocols, were scouring the city, completely isolating the darkened cafe.

In an evening press conference, state Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione sent a message of support directly to those imprisoned in the chocolate cafe, at the whims of an unknown quantity.

'Rest assured, we are doing all we can to set you free,' he said, boasting that the state has the 'best police negotiators in the country' and that the safety of hostages was authorities' 'number one priority'.

Police believe all hostages remain uninjured. '[And] if that's true, for that we're grateful,' Commissioner Scipione said.

Detectives have refused to confirm what weapons the militant is carrying, or even if the militant is accompanied by allies. Queensland's police commissioner Ian Stewart said earlier on Monday that he had information an improvised explosive device may be involved, but state Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has tonight refused to confirm that.

NSW Premier Mike Baird warned workers in the Central Business District that Martin Place and surrounding areas would remain an exclusion zone into Tuesday. 'If you work in this exclusion zone, I'd ask you to work from home tomorrow morning,' a resolute Mr Baird told reporters.

Monday's crisis began just hours after a 25-year-old suspect was arrested in a terror raid in Beecroft, a leafy suburb in Sydney's north-west, but police denied a link between the two events.




Two terrified men were spotted fleeing the Lindt cafe in Martin Place shortly before 3.45pm









Two men, believed to be customers, ran around a corner and hid behind heavily armed police after six hours inside the cafe





A male employee wearing an apron frantically ran out of a side fire exit and hid behind police









The three men are believed to have escaped from the cafe after six hours





Many remain: Around 10 hostages are thought to remain inside the Lindt chocolate cafe



On Monday morning, columnist Chris Kenny, who was in the shop about 20 minutes before the siege began, said he understood the automatic glass sliding doors had been disabled after the gunman stormed the store.

'I did speak to a couple of people who saw a bit more of this unfold than I did,' he said. 'One woman said she tried to go into the shop just after I came out with my takeaway coffee but the doors wouldn't open.
'So obviously whoever is doing this has disabled the automatic glass sliding doors to stop anyone else going in and she said immediately she could see there was a weapon.
'The woman was quite frantic but very clear what she was telling (the police).
'I know the faces of the people who are sitting there enjoying a morning coffee.'

2GB radio host Ray Hadley said he had three tense telephone conversations with one of the hostages inside the cafe and he could hear the gunman giving demands.
The hostage asked to be put to air live following the instructions of the gunman. However, Hadley refused saying he didn't have the expertise to deal with the situation.

'There are some people who are not well. They've been in there for five hours, they're distraught,' he said.
'I'm not in a position to comply with requests that have been made, I can't.
'The media can't play a role in negotiating with people purporting to be from Islamic State holding hostages in a cafe in Sydney. This is the job of authorities to solve htis problem.
'They want us to say things that we simply can't say.'

Witnesses described the chaotic scenes in the legal, business and media centre as it was shut down and scores of heavily armed police surrounded the Lindt building.
All of the chocolate chain's stores around Sydney were closed following the incident, in an act of camaraderie.





Dozens of people are being held hostage by a terrorist who stormed into a central Sydney cafe with a gun and forced crying women to hold a black Islamic flag up to the window






A man believed to be one of the hostage-takers was filmed wearing a black headband covered in Arabic inside the cafe








Terrified customers and employees were among those standing with their hands against the window at the Lindt cafe in Sydney






A hostage could be seen pressing their hands up against the window of the cafe






One blonde-haired hostage was pictured inside the cafe through the glass doors standing in the middle of the shop







Quote:
SYDNEY SIEGE TIMELINE

9.45am - A number of hostages held inside a cafe in Sydney's Martin Place with an Islamic flag pressed up against a window.
10.14am - Police establish a 150m exclusion zone around the cafe with specialist police outside the shop.
10.55am - The flag being displayed appears to be the Shahada flag which has been adopted by extremist groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
11.40am - Channel Seven air footage of alleged armed offender. He is middle aged with a salt and pepper beard, wearing a headband with Islamic writing.
11.51am - NSW Police try to make contact with the people inside the cafe. They advise workers who are trapped in buildings inside the police cordon to stay away from windows.
1.30pm - NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says they had moved to a 'footing' similar to dealing with a terrorist attack.
1.55pm - NSW Premier Mike Baird says Sydney is being tested today, but 'we will remain a democratic society'
2.45pm - Lindt Chocolat Cafe Australia thank the public for their support via Facebook, saying they are 'deeply concerned over this serious incident'
3.37pm - Three male hostages run out of the cafe.
3.50pm - NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn confirms negotiators have spoken with a gunman.
5.00pm - Two female Lindt workers leave the cafe.







Police kept their guns raised on the fire exit after an employee unexpectedly ran from the cafe






Police are stationed behind a ballistic shield with weapons drawn outside the fire door where a hostage escaped from






Police officers were spotted climbing through the first floor window above the Lindt cafe to help evacuate those inside






Scores of police have surrounded the cafe in Martin Place amid claims the terrorists are also armed with a machete and may have explosives








Armed police have sealed off streets around the cafe and Martin Place station is shut






Police heavily armed with weapons have covering all corners of Martin Place









Thousands of workers have been evacuated from the buildings in Martin Place and have been directed to another area






People in the area encompassing Hunter, George, Elizabeth and Macquarie streets bordering Martin Place have been directed to remain indoors and away from open windows






Emergency services have shut down the area surrounding Martin Place as they continue the operation




A Lindt cafe employee, who was due to start her shift just an hour after the Sydney hostage drama unfolded, said she was 'shaking with fear' when the gunman arrived.
Kathryn Chee, a chocolatier at the cafe said she meant to turn up early for her 11am shift because the business had been so busy in the lead up to Christmas.

'It shakes me to the bone,' Ms Chee told the ABC. She said her colleagues who are now hostages are 'people who I hold like another family'.
'It's good I'm not there but I wish I could be there for them. That could be me standing there.'

Ms Chee said the young woman seen in footage holding an Islamic flag pressed against the window had 'a look of sheer horror on her face'.

She says the woman is a thoughtful colleague who bakes treats for people's birthdays.
Ms Chee said the male hostage seen in the TV footage is a funny guy who jokes with the customers.





Police have handcuffed a man 200m from the cafe with reports an officer has hit foot on what appears to be a small black handgun






Hostages: People could be seen with their hands pressed against the window of the Lindt cafe in Sydney






Police have shut down Martin Place train station and office buildings in the area have been evacuated










Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the incident as 'deeply concerning' but said police were well equipped to respond






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









Other areas of Sydney are feeling a heavy police presence as the siege at Martin Place continues










Witnesses have described the chaotic scenes in Martin Place as the area was shut down and scores of police surrounded the building



The Seven Network newsroom, which is in a building opposite the cafe, was among the first to be evacuated, immediately followed by the nearby Westpac building and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Surrounding buildings soon followed or went into lockdown.
Even the city's courts, including the venerable Downing Centre building, were sealed for the day, with police quickly vacating the areas.

Rosemary Healion, who works at Frederick Jordan Chambers, told Daily Mail Australia on Monday morning that 'a couple hundred' of her colleagues were inside at the time of the attack.


'My colleagues are still in there. They're trying to get them out now,' Ms Healion told Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Healion said her office was on the ground floor, the same one as Lindt and they had been pushed behind the office's reception area.

'I'm so so worried as you would be. I was about to walk into the cafe. I get coffee there all the time.'

Window cleaner, David Wilson, managed to get a birds-eye-view of police swarming into Martin Place as he and a colleague cleaned the windows of a building across from Lindt.

'We were looking around and there were cops running around and guns drawn. Some people came out, they looked like just coffee drinkers and that was about all we saw,' Mr Wilson said, adding that his colleague's first response was to get out his phone and start filming.

Rodrigo Neryt was arriving at Channel Seven for his first day of work experience when he heard screaming out the front of the cafe.

'I was at the corner when everything started. I saw people yelling and screaming and two police cars arriving at the scene. I saw what looked like a black ISIS flag and they were holding it up'.





Armed police evacuated office staff next to the Lindt cafe on Monday afternoon






Police helped direct employees who were in lockdown in a building near the cafe under siege









Police in white jumpsuits were helping people climb from the offices on the level above the Lindt cafe






Women helped an elderly lady as they are evacuated by NSW Police from Martin Place






Three women were pictured rushing through Philip Street past armed police as they fled Martin Place






It is unclear how many people are involved in the siege in a Lindt cafe in Martin Place but people could be seen with their hands pressed against the windows (second window)






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




John Edwards works across the road from the cafe on the ninth floor of 53 Martin Place.
He said every floor of the building had been cleared about 11.15am.


'We were evacuated out of the building from the basement,' Mr Edwards told Daily Mail Australia.
'All we were told by security was to get out.'

Lindt Australia issued a statement about the siege on its Facebook page.

'We are deeply concerned over this serious incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the staff and customers involved and all their friends and families,' they said.

Premier Mike Baird said the public and police in Sydney were being tested by the events of the siege.

'But whatever the test, we will face it hear and we will remain a strong democratic civil society,' he said.
'I have full confidence in the police commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW Police Force.
'They are the world's best. They have acted decisively. They are on top of the situation. They are doing everything possible that has to be done. We are incredibly lucky.'

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had offered Mr Baird all possible Commonwealth support and assistance.
'The National Security Committee of Cabinet has also convened for briefings on the situation,' he said in a statement.
'This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner.'

The US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the unfolding situation in Sydney.

World leaders, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian President Narendra Modi have sent messages of support to the Australian people.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten said all of Australia would be thinking of the hostages.

'There are many innocent people caught up in this horrifying incident,' he said.
'Australians are shocked but we won't be shaken. At times like this its more critical than ever that the Australian community stick together.


Earlier this year, it was reported that Martin Place was the planned location of a terror plot. It was alleged in September that Omarjan Azari, the 22-year-old Sydney man arrested on terrorism charges, was planning a public beheading there.


The alleged terror plot, mentioned in a conversation between now deceased Australian terrorism recruiter in Syria, Mohammad Ali Barylei and Azari, involved selecting a member of the public at random, beheading them and then covering their body in a flag.

The whole incident was going to be filmed, and then used as propaganda for the Islamic State cause. Federal prosecutors said the alleged terror plot was 'clearly designed to shock, horror and terrify the community'

Police Prosecutor Michael Allnutt said that Azari had made a threat which involved a 'random selection of persons to execute' during a telephone conversation with Baryalei.
Azari was arrested on September 18 and charged with preparing for an act of terrorism.
He is due in court this week for a bail application.





Thousands of office workers have relocated from Martin Place to Sydney's Hyde Park






Patients from the nearby Sydney Hospital patients were also evacuated alongside office workers






Police are guarding the area in Hyde Park where people are congregating after evacuating






People evacuated from offices in Martin Place have been told to congregate in Hyde Park






Martin Place is one of Sydney's busiest streets and is at the centre of the CBD




Quote:
WHAT IS THE SHAHADA FLAG?

Held up to a window by terrified hostages, a black flag covered in white Arabic was the first sign that the Martin Place siege could be linked to extremist Islam.

Witnesses initially believed that it was the standard of ISIS. However, close examination revealed it was in fact the Shahada flag, bearing the words
'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah'


It is used by the extremist group, Jabhat al Nusra, which is fighting the Assad government in Syria.
But it has meaning for all Muslims, in that the Shahada is the Islamic Creed, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which is recited by Muslims when they pray.




The flag displayed at the Lindt cafe


Running to Safety: Two Hostages Flee Martin Place Lindt Cafe



Sydney Terror Siege: 5 Hostages Free, City Still on Lockdown



The 'Lone Wolf': Sydney Gunman Caught on Camera Inside Cafe



Mother of 18-year-old Hostage Describes Horror at Cafe Siege



Sydney Opera House Evacuated After Hostage Siege in the CBD



Police Will Work Indefinitely to Ensure Hostages' Safety




CONTINUED......

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