Sydney: Crisis ends as police storm Lindt Cafe, hostages rescued; Indian techie safe

“An Iranian refugee charged with sexual assault and known for sending hate letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas is the armed man holding an unknown number of hostages in a Sydney cafe,” a police source said on Tuesday.

Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh, remained holed up in the cafe some 15 hours after the siege began.

“There’s no operational reason for that name to be held back by us now,” said the police source, who declined to be identified.

Several people, including an Indian techie, were taken hostage by the gunman at a popular cafe 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 here.

The incident happened at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place, the heart of Sydney’s business district.

New South Wales Police Commisioner Andrew Scipione has confirmed that no one has been injured in the terror attack at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. “We understand no one has been injured, and if that’s true, for that we’re grateful,” Scipione said.

“We will put as many police in this operation as needed because it is that important to us,” Scipione added.

The gunman holding hostages at a popular cafe here has demanded delivery of an Islamic State flag and a conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a media report said.

READ: Uber backtracks on price hikes during Sydney drama

According to the report, the armed man had told the hostages that he had planted four bombs. The gunman said two bombs are planted inside the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place and the others elsewhere in the Central Business District, Sky News channel reported quoting Network Ten.

Meanwhile, Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that there’s some information that an Indian IT professional is also among the hostages in Sydney cafe.

READ: Indian may be among Sydney hostages: Venkaiah Naidu

Security around Indian cricketers has been beefed up in Brisbane owing to the hostage crisis in Sydney with the BCCI keeping a close watch on the unfolding events there.

READ: Indian cricketers’ security increased after Sydney attack

READ: Sydney gunman demands Islamic State flag, says bombs planted in cafe, CBD 

Earlier in the day, five people escaped from a fire exit of a Sydney building where a hostage situation has been unfolding.

READ: 6 hours into siege, 3 flee from cafe

The two people were seen on live video footage bolting out of the door past heavily armed police and then disappearing around a corner.

READ: PM Narendra Modi describes Sydney terror attack as ‘disturbing’ 

The potential development came six hours after a gunman took an unknown number of people hostage inside a downtown Sydney chocolate shop and cafe at the height of Monday morning rush hour.

A hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety after she escaped from a cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

GALLERY: Sydney cafe siege: Hostages held by gunman, forced to hold Islamic flag 

An apparent hostage situation was unfolding inside a chocolate shop and cafe in Australia’s largest city on Monday, where several people could be seen through a window with their hands held in the air.

READ: Australia uncovers plot to launch Mumbai-style terror attack on Parliament 

New South Wales state police said they were dealing with “an armed incident,” though they would not confirm hostages were being held inside the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney.

This image taken from video shows people holding up hands inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. An apparent hostage situation was unfolding inside the chocolate shop and cafe in Australia’s largest city on Monday, where several people could be seen through a window with their hands held in the air. (AP Photo/Channel 7 vide AP Video)

But television footage shot through the cafe’s windows showed several people with their arms in the air and hands pressed against the glass. “Specialist officers are attempting to make contact (with) those inside a cafe,” police said in a statement.

READ: Indian Consulate in Sydney evacuated, staff safe: Govt

“We don’t know whether this is politically motivated, although obviously there are some indications that it could be,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in the nation’s capital, Canberra. “We have to appreciate that even in a society such as ours, there are people who would wish to do us harm.”

A police spokeswoman said no injuries had been reported from the incident. Heavily armed officers were lined up outside the cafe, and a man with a backpack inside the cafe could be seen walking back and forth in front of the glass doors.

— Chris Reason (@ChrisReason7) December 15, 2014

— Chris Reason (@ChrisReason7) December 15, 2014

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) December 15, 2014

https://twitter.com/LindtCafeAus/status/544337034387943424

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) December 15, 2014

— NSW Police (@nswpolice) December 15, 2014

https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/544295312677175296

This image taken from video shows people against shop windows holding up hands inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. An apparent hostage situation was unfolding inside the chocolate shop and cafe in Australia’s largest city on Monday, where several people could be seen through a window with their hands held in the air. (AP Photo/Channel 7 via AP Video)

Abbott said the National Security Committee of Cabinet met to be briefed on the situation.

“The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves,” Abbott said. “Australia is a peaceful, open and generous society — nothing should ever change that. And that’s why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual.”

The cafe is located in Martin Place, a plaza in the heart of the city’s financial and shopping district that is packed with holiday shoppers this time of year. It is home to the state premier’s office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the headquarters of two of the nation’s largest banks. The state parliament house is a few blocks away.

Police stand at the ready close to a cafe under siege in Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney. (Source: AP)

TV footage showed two people inside the cafe holding up what appeared to be a black flag with white Arabic writing on it.

Zain Ali, the head of the Islamic Studies Research Unit at the University of Auckland, said it was difficult to read the message because media images showed only the lower part of the flag. But he believed it was the Shahada, or declaration of faith, largely because a black flag with white writing in a contemporary context often contains that message. He said he could make out the word “Muhammad.”

Ali said the Shahada translates as “There is no deity of worship except God (Allah), and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” It is considered the first pillar of Islam’s five pillars of faith, and has been used by groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State but wasn’t invented by them, Ali said. A police spokeswoman said no injuries had been reported from the incident. Heavily armed officers were lined up outside the cafe, and a man with a backpack inside the cafe could be seen walking back and forth in front of the glass doors.

The cafe is located in Martin Place, a plaza in the heart of the city’s financial and shopping district that is packed with holiday shoppers this time of year. It is home to the state premier’s office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the headquarters of two of the nation’s largest banks. The state parliament house is a few blocks away. Streets in the area were closed, offices evacuated and the public told to stay away.

(with agency inputs)