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BBC
As a gunman holds people hostage in a cafe in Sydney, thousands of messages of support have been posted online for Muslims in Australia who are afraid of an Islamophobic backlash.The spark was this post on Facebook by Rachael Jacobs, who said she'd seen a woman she presumed was Muslim silently removing her hijab while sitting next to her on the train: "I ran after her at the train station. I said 'put it back on. I'll walk with u'. She started to cry and hugged me for about a minute - then walked off alone'.
The story of Rachael's encounter with a woman in religious attire inspired this Twitter user, 'Sir Tessa', aka Tessa Kum: "If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don't feel safe alone: I'll ride with you. @ me for schedule," user 'Sir Tessa' tweeted. Moments later she tweeted "Maybe start a hashtag? What's in #illridewithyou?"
Reuters
Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed.Police have not publicly identified the gunman but a police source named him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan and who was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.
During the siege at the Lindt cafe in Sydney's central business district, hostages had been forced to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack.
NPR
Just as the siege entered its second day, police stormed a chocolate shop in downtown Sydney, ending a more than 12-hour hostage standoff that began during morning rush hour.Television images showed police throwing what appeared to be stun grenades before entering the building. One hostage was carried out, while others ran out with their hands over their heads.
"Sydney siege is over," the New South Wales Police tweeted. "More details to follow."
New South Wales police, in a statement, said shots were fired during the confrontation. It said the 50-year-old gunman died in the hospital. A 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman also died in the hospital, the statement said.
BBC
Two people died, along with an Islamist gunman, after commandos stormed a cafe in Sydney, Australia, to bring to an end a 16-hour siege.The gunman, identified as an Iranian refugee, had taken dozens of hostages.
Four people were injured, including a policeman hit by shotgun pellets.
Central Sydney was put in lockdown when the gunman seized the hostages early on Monday, forcing some of them to hold up a black Islamic banner at the window of the Lindt cafe.
The Lindt Chocolat Cafe is located in Martin Place, a busy shopping area in Sydney's financial district.
The gunman was named as Man Haron Monis. He received political asylum in Australia in 1996 and was on bail facing a number of charges.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the "horrific incident" at the cafe had been "tragic beyond words" and there were "lessons to be learned" from this "brush with terrorism".
Al Jazeera America
Heavily armed Australian police stormed a downtown Sydney cafe early Tuesday, ending a 16-hour standoff with a gunman who was holding 17 hostages.Gunfire and explosions accompanied the raid, which came shortly after five or six people were seen fleeing out of the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. Australian police confirmed that three people were killed in the course of the stand-off, including the gunman. Some of the hostages were injured in the course of the ordeal, including a female hostage who was shot in the leg, a hospital official said. At least two others were wheeled out of the cafe on stretchers.
Shortly before the raid, police identified the hostage taker as Man Haron Monis, a 50-year-old Iranian-born self-styled sheikh.
Police raided the cafe after they heard a number of gunshots from inside, said New South Wales state police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.