A black flag with Arabic writing saying "There is no God but Allah" was seen being waved behind the hostages in the cafe.
02:43 a.m. (AEMD)
Still no information about hostage taker: unclear if alive, injured or killed http://t.co/40E5foRpZ8 #sydneysiege pic.twitter.com/XoF7h8Mxka
— AJE News (@AJENews) December 15, 2014
02:42 a.m. (AEMD)
#BREAKING: A police officer has sustained a gunshot wound to the head.4 others injured. #SydneySiege
— Mask (@genobkk) December 15, 2014
02:40 a.m. (AEMD)
The Sydney siege has ended; four hostages reportedly wounded.
4 hostages appear to be seriously wounded according to 7News #SydneySiege
— ANM News (@ANMNews_) December 15, 2014
The Sydney siege has now ended with CPR being performed on 2 victims #SydneySiege
— ANM News (@ANMNews_) December 15, 2014
02:37 a.m. (AEMD)
Words from police immediately before storming the cafe: "Hostage down!" #SydneySiege
— The Solonaut (@Solonaut) December 15, 2014
02:34 a.m. (AEMD)
CNN reports that the police operation to save the hostages is over.
CPR being performed on at least 2 after Sydney siege, which has now ended, Australia's ABC reports http://t.co/Y62bZ2YYa5
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 15, 2014
02:31 a.m. (AEMD)
The Guardian reports that a bomb disposal robot is now going into the building. 7 News Australia reports that the gunman is shot dead.
Australia's Seven News says #SydneySiege gunman is down. He is self-styled cleric with recent violent history.
— David Common (@davidcommon) December 15, 2014
#Sydney #CafeLindt RT @simoncrerar: Lots of bangs, hostages out, no sign of shooter #SydneySiege pic.twitter.com/TtkbtMY5kq
— Muschelschloss ☕ ️ (@Muschelschloss) December 15, 2014
02:28 a.m. (AEMD)
Unbelievable footage from just minutes ago of the #sydneysiege being stormed by police. https://t.co/n3u9KUxubX #SydneyHostageCrisis #Sydney
— Nick Hawatmeh (@HawatmehNick) December 15, 2014
02:24 a.m. (AEMD)
"There are large groups of people emerging from the building. They all look like emergency services," the Guardian correspondent Hele Davidson reports.
Gunfire at Sydney cafe where hostages held; report says at least 1 person shot; more hostages flee http://t.co/Y62bZ2YYa5
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 15, 2014
BREAKING @SkyNewsAust: freed hostage borne high from #sydneysiege w/c.4 paramedic teams on the scene pic.twitter.com/JVtBuJL5oq (carsonscottLI
— Sky News Business (@SkyBusiness) December 15, 2014
02:20 a.m. (AEMD)
The police is storming the Lindt cafe, hostages are being carried out.
Police have moved in the #Sydney standoff. Watch LIVE here >> http://t.co/qs060Hks6S Loud booms just heard. pic.twitter.com/YzIHwpdJVm
— KIRO 7 (@KIRO7Seattle) December 15, 2014
Shots appear to have been fired outside the cafe, media reports.
Heavy gunfire erupts at #Sydney cafe after police storms in & at least 6 hostages escape #sydneysiege” pic.twitter.com/GhSFH4eVyB
— Ulysse Paris (@ulyssepariser) December 15, 2014
02:11 a.m. (AEMD)
At least five more hostages have been seen escaping from the Lind cafe, Sky News reports.
BREAKING @SkyNewsAust: another five hostages seen escaping #sydneysiege pic.twitter.com/LmcKTBUXhp (@carsonscottLIVE)
— Sky News Business (@SkyBusiness) December 15, 2014
02:10 a.m. (AEMD)
BREAKING @SkyNewsAust: Sixth hostage escapes from #sydneysiege pic.twitter.com/4FA5boNYG6 (@carsonscottLIVE)
— Sky News Business (@SkyBusiness) December 15, 2014
02:00 a.m. (AEMD)
More about Man Haron Monis: he was first noticed by the police when he penned poisonous letters to the family of dead Australian soldiers seven years ago, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Who is Man Haron Monis? The suspected Sydney siege gunman is no stranger to the police.#sydneysiege Full report here: http://t.co/2obTMxkhBM
— smh.com.au (@smh) December 15, 2014
01:45 a.m. (AEMD)
The Guardian correspondent Helen Davidson reports via Twitter that relatives and friends of the hostages are still staying near the cafe.
#sydneysiege now approaching 16 hours. Still people here watching, some are a *little* under weather. pic.twitter.com/InlEZCWIOP
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) December 15, 2014
Her colleague Bill Code also reports that NSW police units are guarding the scene.
Police guarding the same paving stones hours in as we enter the witching hours #sydneysiege pic.twitter.com/mUoyyrG3Jy
— Bill Code (@billcode) December 15, 2014
01:25 a.m. (AEMD)
Man Haron Monis is well known person in Australia, he has his own page on Wikipedia.
So the gunman has a Wikipedia page too http://t.co/aMMiBADvbO and a website http://t.co/2S8QKlqa6i #sydneysiege
— Vijay Pandey (@vijaypandey) December 15, 2014
According to his Wikipedia page, Sheikh Haron was born in 1964 in Iran. In 1996 he fled Iran to Australia in 1996 as a refugee.
#Sydneysiege cleric reportedly left Shiism for radical Sunni faith.
— Jamie Tarabay (@jamietarabay) December 15, 2014
01:10 a.m. (AEMD)
NSW police believes the man who seized hostages is Man Haron Monis (also known as Sheikh Haron), an Iranian-born cleric.
#BREAKING: Police believe the man behind the Sydney siege is Iraninan cleric Man Haron Monis #sydneysiege
— ABC News (@abcnews) December 15, 2014
Sheik Man Haron Monis, the #SydneySiege gunman, named as a self-styled preacher of IS http://t.co/iaCsoBcTme pic.twitter.com/JaNbN7UH4D
— Sputnik UK (@SputnikNewsUK) December 15, 2014
00:45 a.m. (AEMD)
An Indian IT specialist is among the hostages in the Lindt Cafe in Sydney, Indian IT company Infosys confirmed Monday.
"We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostage at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney. We are also in the process of confirming the whereabouts of all our employees in the city. We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground," an e-mail circulated by Infosys spokesperson Sarah Gideon said.
00:40 a.m. (AEMD)
Australia’s New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) have activated the so-called Task Force Pioneer, after classifying the Sydney cafe siege as a terrorist attack, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday, citing NSWPF deputy commissioner Catherine Burn.
00:33 a.m. (AEMD)
The gunman is allegedly an Iranian asylum seeker who murdered his ex-wife and has been charged with numerous cases of rape.
@RT_com gunman in #Sydney seige is an #Iranian asylum seeker with numerous rape charges and murder of ex wife
— Maggie Pie (@adlitammm) December 15, 2014
00:15 a.m. (AEMD)
The New South Wales police commissioner Andrew Scipione told journalists that all the hostages are believed to be unharmed.
00:04 a.m. (AEMD)
#Sydney terrorist issues demands via hostages in videos: 1. Speak to PM 2. Announce it's #ISIS attack 3. #ISIS flag https://t.co/GrYsGb2S6i
— Julie Lenarz (@MsIntervention) December 15, 2014
