A woman is seen in a window of the Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, at Martin Place in central Sydney
The
hostage situation in Sydney, Australia, continues:
A gunman holding hostages in a Sydney cafe is said to be demanding an ISIS flag and a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The reported demands emerged after five hostages managed to flee the building, leaving an unconfirmed number of people still trapped inside during a standoff that has lasted more than 12 hours so far. [...]
Chilling images from local media showed people, believed to be hostages, with their hands pressed against the glass of the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney's central business district.
Footage showed them holding up a black flag with Arabic writing on it that reads: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God." That flag was different from the one used by the terrorist group ISIS. [...]
The writing on the flag in the window stoked fears that the crisis in Sydney could be linked to Islamic extremists. Australia, which is part of the international coalition fighting ISIS in the Middle East, said in September that it had foiled a plot by Islamic militants to carry out a public execution.
6:03 AM PT:
7:59 AM PT:
MORE: Police say hostage situation in Sydney is over after a swarm of heavily armed police storm downtown cafe:
http://t.co/...
— @AP