Violent end to Sydney hostage drama (updated)

Two hostages and an extremist Iranian-born gunman were killed in a siege that ended when armed police stormed a central Sydney cafe Tuesday after hearing gunshots.

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Noon update

Here is some of the latest information to be released, not all of it confirmed:
Three people are confirmed dead, 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson, 38-year-old Katrina Dawson, a lawyer and mother of three children and the hostage-taker Man Haron Monis, aged 50.

There were 17 hostages inside the cafe. Five escaped on Monday. Six escaped uninjured just after 2am on Tuesday immediately before the police stormed inside.

Police apparently stormed the cafe in response to gunshots heard inside.

Of the hostages inside at the time of the police action, three, all women are in hospital with gunshot wounds. A policeman was also shot but his injury is not serious. Two pregnant women are in hospital as a precautionary measure.

It is still not clear how many of the victims were shot by the gunman and how many were hit during the crossfire. There are unconfirmed reports that cafe manager Tori Johnson had tried to overpower the gunman before he was killed.

The gunman was apparently not a member of a terrorist group and was acting alone. Questions are being raised why he was earlier freed on bail despite facing multiple serious criminal charges.

Tuesday morning update

I'll have more shortly.

Violent end to Sydney hostage drama

SYDNEY, AFP – Two hostages and an extremist Iranian-born gunman were killed in a siege that ended when armed police stormed a central Sydney cafe Tuesday, as a shocked Australia struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

Police in SWAT-style gear hurled percussion grenades and opened fire in the early hours of the morning after a number of staff and customers managed to flee for their lives from the Lindt eatery in the heart of Australia's biggest city.

They moved in after hearing gunfire, and the 50-year-old lone gunman, widely named in the media as Man Haron Monis, was shot and killed in the exchange that followed, New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.

A man aged 34, and a woman identified as 38-year-old mother-of-three Katrina Dawson, were pronounced dead among the 17 hostages. Several others were injured.

"He had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said of the hostage-taker, who had earlier unfurled an Islamic flag at the window of the cafe.

Evening update

Sydney police say they are determined to save the lives of the hostages and are willing to wait as long as it takes for that to happen. No rescue effort seems contemplated and negotiations are ongoing as long night continues.

It now appears certain that only one hostage taker is involved, a man between the age of 45 and 55. He says he has planted two bombs in the cafe and is thought to be armed with a shotgun. It is believed that police know his identity but they are saying nothing about the man. Indeed they are giving out only minimal information to the press.

Latest: The hostage taker has been identified as  Man Haron Monis, a radical Muslim cleric, who fled Iran for Australia in 1996.

He became famous in Australia for sending letters to the families of Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan, accusing them of being murderers. He has previously been charged of several crimes in Australia, including sexual crimes.

Note: The best way to follow a major breaking news story like this is through English-language reports. I'll be updating the story but you can also follow it (almost) live through Australia's Channel 7: https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/25773954/the-peril-of-lone-wolf-attacks/?cmp=twitter .

Noon update

At least one armed gunman is still holding an unknown number of hostages inside a well-known Sydney cafe as of noon our time.

In a dramatic development, AFP reports that  five people were seen running out of the cafe.

The first three hostages appeared to come out of a side door which was being watched by heavily armed police, almost six hours after the standoff began.

About an hour later, two women wearing aprons with the cafe's logo fled the building into the arms of heavily armed police officers, bringing the total of escapees to five. Hostages have told police that the armed man has two bombs and he wants to talk to the Australian prime minister.

Catherine Burn, deputy police commissioner in New South Wales has just said that police negotiators have had contact with a hostage taker in the cafe, but she did not disclose any additional information of what was said. She put the number of hostages at "below 30."

Hostages held inside Sydney cafe, Islamic flag held up

SYDNEY, AFP –  Hostages were being held inside a cafe in central Sydney Monday with an Islamic flag displayed against a window, according to witnesses and reports, while police said they were also responding.

Martin Place in the central business district was shut down as scores of armed police surrounded the Lindt chocolate cafe, with TV pictures showing a flag – black with white Arabic writing – held to a window by terrified customers.

Reports said as many as 20 people were in the cafe and that there were at least two gunmen, although police had no immediate comment, only confirming that an operation was underway.

Witnesses reported hearing loud bangs that sounded like gun shots.

Patrick Byrne, a producer at Channel Seven whose newsroom is opposite the cafe, said staff at the television station watched the situation unfold.

"We raced to the window and saw the shocking and chilling sight of people putting their hands up against the panes of glass at the cafe," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"This was just extraordinary."

Australia has been on high alert after the government raised concerns that citizens who have fought alongside jihadists in Iraq and Syria could return home radicalised and capable of carrying out attacks.

Martin Place is the finance centre of the city and houses several prominent buildings, including New South Wales state leader Mike Baird's office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Westpac Bank and the Commonwealth Bank.

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