Several people, including an Indian techie, were taken hostage by an armed man at a popular caf in Sydney and forced to display an Islamic flag, triggering a security alert in Australia and leading to evacuation of key buildings, including the Indian Consulate.
A 17-hour-long hostage drama in which a lone heavily-armed man of Iranian-origin held 17 people hostage at a cafe in central Sydney ended late Monday night (Indian Standard Time) with the police storming it, resulting in three deaths.
Grenades and gunfire gripped Sydney as the tense hostage situation at the Lindt Chocolate cafe ended after 17 long hours.
The Indian Consulate in Sydney was on Monday evacuated in view of the hostage situation in a caf near its premises and all the staff members are safe, the external affairs ministry said.
A gunman holding hostages at a popular cafe in Sydney has demanded delivery of an Islamic State flag and a conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a media report said on Monday.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday led a shocked nation in mourning the death of 2 Australians who lost their lives at the cafe siege in Sydney that ended with the killing of lone Iranian-born ISIS sympathiser who took 17 people hostages, including 2 Indians.
Two hostages who have been killed in the 17-hour-long hostage drama at a cafeteria in Sydney were identified as the manager of the Lindt Chocolate cafe and a lawyer. The 38-year-old lawyer, Katrina Dawson, was a mother of three young children who became the victim of the siege. She was a barrister at Selbourne Chambers and was married to Paul Smith, a partner at Mallesons.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images
Members of the Muslim community in Australia's New South Wales tipped off police that radical Islamists were sending 'inflammatory text messages' seeking support for a protest over a video deemed offensive to Islam.
Marcia Mikhael, 42, was one of the 17 people held hostage by Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis on Monday in the terrorist siege at Sydney's Lindt caf that ended early Tuesday morning. Marcia was asked to stand in the front of a black Islamic flag and forced to record a chilling message by her captor with his list of demands.
Two victims of the deadly Sydney siege were remembered on Tuesday by tearful mourners at private memorial services here, a week after a gunman held them hostage inside a downtown cafe in Australia.
Over 40 Australian Muslim groups have expressed "utter shock and horror" over the siege at a popular Sydney cafe in which a number of people have been taken hostage, including an Indian techie.
A mother of a hostage at Sydney's Lindt Cafe received in text from her son who was trapped inside on Monday.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images.
A Sydney cafe that was the scene of a deadly 16-hour siege reopened on Friday, over three months after two hostages died in the terrorist attack staged by a Iran-born gunman inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
Another Indian national, who was among about 15 people held hostage in a popular Sydney cafe and later rescued, was also an Infosys employee.
An Infosys employee is among those being held hostage by an unidentified armed man who stormed a downtown cafe in Sydney, the IT major said on Monday.
If Michael's lucky number wasn't 15 it certainly is now. Michael -- who did not give his surname -- missed the Sydney siege at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe by just 15 minutes and his receipt was number 183.
No decision yet on the fate of the Sydney Test, which starts December 26, but for us the tour is still on, says the Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary, Sanjay Patel.
An armed gunman on Monday took several people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney and forced two people to hold what appeared to be a black flag bearing Islamic slogans written in Arabic in the store's window.
Landmarks across the city have been bathed in a dazzling array of colourful lights, from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Opera House. Other key areas illuminated include Martin Place, Kings Cross, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Barangaroo, Chatswood and Taronga Zoo.
Amidst the drama of the Sydney hostage crisis, many Australians took to Twitter on Monday to express their outrage after tourists and few locals took selfies of themselves in the area of the Lindt caf hostage crisis in Martin Place.
The Australian media has identified the gunman as Haron Monis, who was granted political asylum in Australia.
Gruesome details of the 17-hour siege have been revealed
Iranian-born Islamic State sympathiser Man Haron Monis began to doze off in the early hours of Tuesday when the hostages decided to escape together and on realising this he opened fire, according to a media report.
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