Sydney hostage crisis: Dozens of people held hostage in Lindt Cafe at Martin Place

2015-04-14 1

Hostages are being held by what witnesses say are at least two gunmen at a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on Monday. News footage shows the hostages were forced to hold up a flag with Arabic writing on it at the windows of the store.
One witness said two suspects arrived at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe before 10:00 a.m., with one of them holding a blue sports bag.
The pair entered the cafe and shut down the automatic sliding doors. Some hostages were ordered to press their hands against the windows and hold up a flag inscribed with Arabic words, but some reports say the flag is not one used by the Islamic State.
Unconfirmed reports state one of the gunmen contacted the police and said he had set up ‘devices all over the city’, and requested to speak to the prime minister live on radio.
Hundreds of police officers with heavy gear were deployed to Martin Place. Occupants of nearby buildings were evacuated. Authorities have set up an exclusion zone, which includes the Martin Place train station.
A 25-year-old man from north west Sydney suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Australia was detained this morning. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it’s not clear whether the attack was politically motivated.

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