At least two people were killed as police stormed the Sydney cafe to end a siege of more than 16 hours by a gunman holding several hostages, television reports said.
An AFP photographer on the scene saw what appeared to be a body, covered by a bloodstained sheet, being stretchered out of the cafe after heavily armed officers entered the cafe in a volley of explosions and flashes.
Australia’s Channel 7 news reported that at least two people had been killed and three others seriously wounded during the operation.
Australian security forces stormed the cafe where the hostages were being held at gunpoint in a dramatic denouement to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.
Heavy gunfire and loud bangs rang out shortly after 2am today local time (5pm CAT yesterday), and moments earlier at least six people believed to have been held captive had managed to flee the scene.
It was not clear whether the dead or injured included the gunman who had been named by a police source as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh facing multiple charges of sexual assault.
He was also found guilty in 2012 of sending offensive and threatening letters to families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, as a protest against Australia’s involvement in the conflict, according to local media.
During the siege, hostages had been forced to display an Islamic flag. — AFP-Reuters
Two believed killed as police storm cafe
An AFP photographer on the scene saw what appeared to be a body, covered by a bloodstained sheet, being stretchered out of the cafe after heavily armed officers entered the cafe in a volley of explosions and flashes.
Australia’s Channel 7 news reported that at least two people had been killed and three others seriously wounded during the operation.
Australian security forces stormed the cafe where the hostages were being held at gunpoint in a dramatic denouement to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.
Heavy gunfire and loud bangs rang out shortly after 2am today local time (5pm CAT yesterday), and moments earlier at least six people believed to have been held captive had managed to flee the scene.
It was not clear whether the dead or injured included the gunman who had been named by a police source as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh facing multiple charges of sexual assault.
He was also found guilty in 2012 of sending offensive and threatening letters to families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, as a protest against Australia’s involvement in the conflict, according to local media.
During the siege, hostages had been forced to display an Islamic flag. — AFP-Reuters
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