Grenades and gunfire gripped Sydney as the tense hostage situation at the Lindt Chocolate cafe ended after 17 long hours.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gruesome details of the 17-hour siege have been revealed
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
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