ISIS IN AUSTRALIA

[Duchess]

Terrorists were today holding up to 20 hostages in an armed siege in a cafe in Sydney where an extremist flag was being held up in a window.

Witnesses reported seeing staff and customers sobbing as they were forced to stand with their hands pressed against the windows of the Lindt cafe.

At least two gunmen are involved in the siege but dozens of armed police have sealed off the streets surrounding the site.

One gunman is believed to have a shotgun and possibly an explosive device.

Martin Place has been shut down and scores of police are surrounding the building after the alarm was raised about 9.45am.







Story

[crash]

I don't think its ISIS. I think it's just one (maybe two) fucknut operating on his own after having his head filled with hate propaganda.

Organised terror attacks don't usually take hostages and fuck about like this clown is.

[HairOfTheDog]

I hope NSW authorities can take this guy(s) in or take him out without any hostage casualties.

I agree that an organized terror attack would be hit, run, and claim credit -- rather than holing up and surrounded in a cafe for hours.

Maybe a self-radicalized hater or wanna-be terrorist reject?

Anyway, really hoping none of the hostages is killed.

[username]

I don't think its ISIS. I think it's just one (maybe two) fucknut operating on his own after having his head filled with hate propaganda.

That's the new trend though. Recruit and incite individuals to commit jihad. Kinda like Canada.

Not hard to do but extremely attention getting.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think its ISIS. I think it's just one (maybe two) fucknut operating on his own after having his head filled with hate propaganda.

That's the new trend though. Recruit and incite individuals to commit jihad. Kinda like Canada.

Not hard to do but extremely attention getting.

I could see it being an Australian who went to fight in Syria and somehow made it back into Australia despite the country's intense tracking and anti terrorist re-entry program.

Except, the flag (below) that this guy and what seems to be a cohort was carrying wasn't ISIS'. It's al-Nusra's. Al-Nusra wants Assad out; the organization doesn't have a history of focusing on western targets in its campaign like ISIS does.



That's why I think it's likely a couple of guys acting on their own rather than being backed or encouraged to strike in Australia by an organized group. But, I could be wrong. It's possible that al-Nusra is supporting these guys. Definitely not ISIS though -- the hostages wouldn't be alive now if it was ISIS and the ISIS terrorists would be proudly displaying their own flag.

[crash]

Except, the flag (below) that this guy and what seems to be a cohort was carrying wasn't ISIS'. It's al-Nusra's.

Nah, it's just The Black Standard.

[crash]

Lates updates a couple of hours ago have the dude requesting an ISIL flag and a phone call with Prime Minister Tony Abbott. I still think we're all kinda right; the guy is a lone wolf, recruited* by social media and hate propaganda and he's just making it up as he goes along.


* I use the word recruited in a very loose sense

[cannongal]

I'm a little surprised that the situation has lasted as long as it has. According to the news blurb I heard this morning, their is just 1 'terrorist' with a shotgun & 5 people have already ran out of the cafe on their own.

Now call me crazy (yeah, I am), but if 5 people are willing to put everyone Else's life in danger by fleeing the cafe, why can't 5 people put everyone's life in danger by tackling the guy?

Sure, he might get a shot off, but if enough people jump on him before he can reload, he won't get the second shot off.

[Duchess]

I thought the worst and that there would be heads rolling in the streets of Sydney.

[HairOfTheDog]

Except, the flag (below) that this guy and what seems to be a cohort was carrying wasn't ISIS'. It's al-Nusra's.

Nah, it's just The Black Standard.

Ah, thanks. I see it's missing the Nusra signature. Never trust the The Mail.


^ Black Standard -- Translation: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of God."



Looks like the initial report of two terrorists has been amended and it's now down to one (with authorities not ruling out the possibility of a second).

He's demanding an IS flag now? I think he's a wanna-be terrorist nutter, not a terrorist recruit carrying out an organization-backed plot. But, if he makes it outta this alive, he'll probably be prosecuted for carrying out a terrorist act. Livin' the dream.

Anyway, good to see 5 hostages are free. Did the guy let the 5 hostages go or did they escape and run to freedom? He's reportedly pacing and making silly demands. Were I a remaining hostage, I'd probably be thinking like cannongal -- make a break for it if there's a clear path out or band together and rush the guy rather than sit in wait. Hope they're free soon.

[crash]

Anyway, good to see 5 hostages are free. Did the guy let the 5 hostages go or did they escape and run to freedom? He's reportedly pacing and making silly demands. Were I a remaining hostage, I'd probably be thinking like cannongal -- make a break for it if there's a clear path out or band together and rush the guy rather than sit in wait. Hope they're free soon.

Very good to see for them and their loved ones..

To answer CG, I guess I'm not really sure other than wagering a guess that this type of thing, or any type of hostage/gun crime is so foreign in this country so I think people tend to see a gun, think the worst and do what they're told. That and there are reports he has a backpack of some kind with explosives, highly unsubstantiated, but if that were the case there may be the fear of setting that off.

I believe the first three hostages were confirmed as escaping. From what I read somewhere, the subsequent pair were released as part of the whole demands process. This again leads me to believe this is an amature terrorist, for want of a better term. I would have thought a hardcore, organised terrorist group would have ensured nobody escaped and if they did, an example was set.

I think this guy has some issues and is wanting to be a martyr, all brought on of his own accord.

[cannongal]

To answer CG, I guess I'm not really sure other than wagering a guess that this type of thing, or any type of hostage/gun crime is so foreign in this country so I think people tend to see a gun, think the worst and do what they're told. That and there are reports he has a backpack of some kind with explosives, highly unsubstantiated, but if that were the case there may be the fear of setting that off.

There's an old saying "when you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.

Are guns outlawed in your country? That would explain (to me, anyway) the type of 'sit there and take it' attitude that I see in this situation.

I do hope that all the hostages make it out of there safely, but I thnk at some point, a confrontation is going to have to happen to end it :/

[Maggot]

I believe they are except for hunting guns and those probably require some special permit that cost a ton of money, my guess 3-400.00. If they tried that crap and I was there hopefully I could get a shot off between the lookers before they had much of chance to shoot me.
Terrorist will target the weak and when they do come to America I'm sure they will target a State that has tough gun laws. Or a city that bans them.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

looks like this has been sorted out...

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationw...tml#page=1

Australian security forces on Tuesday stormed the Sydney cafe where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in what looked like the dramatic end to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.

Heavy gunfire and loud bangs rang out shortly after 2 a.m. local time, and moments earlier at least six people believed to have been held captive had managed to flee the scene.

Medics moved in and took away several injured people on stretchers, but it was not clear whether they included the gunman who had been named by a police source only minutes earlier.

SUSPECT NAMED

An Iranian refugee known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas and facing several charges of sexual assault was named as the armed man that held an unknown number of hostages in a Sydney cafe, a police source said on Tuesday.

Man Haron Monis, a self-styled sheik, 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.

Monis, also known as Sheik Haron, was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife who was stabbed and set alight in a Sydney apartment block.

He was 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 reports.

Earlier this year, Monis, who describes himself as a "spiritual healer," was charged with the indecent and sexual assault of a Sydney woman in 2002. Further charges were laid in October.


Monis's website shows graphic images of children that the website says were killed by U.S. and Australian airstrikes, as well as media coverage following Monis's court appearances and statements addressed to the Muslim community and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Local media reported his age at 49 or 50.

HOSTAGE STANDOFF

Australian police locked down the center of the country's biggest city on Monday after the gunman walked into a busy downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack.

Police said they knew of one armed assailant involved in the incident at the Lindt chocolate cafe in the heart of Sydney's financial district, but there could be more.

Syndey hostage situation: No hostages injured, police said
New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione updated media about the ongoing hostage drama inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia.
Police, including paramilitary officers, cordoned off several blocks around the cafe as negotiators tried to defuse one of the biggest security scares in Australia for decades. Snipers and a SWAT team took up positions around the cafe and police helicopters flew overhead. At least five hostages have been released or escaped since the mid-morning siege began, with terrified cafe workers and customers seen running into the arms of paramilitary police.

About 15 hostages could still be seen inside the cafe, said Chris Reason, a reporter at Channel Seven, whose office is opposite the cafe.

"From inside Martin Place newsroom we can see gunman is rotating hostages, forcing them to stand against windows, sometimes 2 hours at a time," Reason said on Twitter.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has warned of militant plans to strike Australian targets, said there were indications the hostage-taking was politically motivated.

"This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the Australian people," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East.


"We have moved to a footing that would be consistent with a terrorist event," Andrew Scipione, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales, told reporters, declining to comment on a possible motive, the number of assailants or hostages.

News footage showed hostages holding up a black and white flag displaying the Shahada - a testament to the faith of Muslims. The flag has been popular among Sunni Islamist militant groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The incident forced the evacuation of nearby buildings and sent shockwaves around a country where many people were turning their attention to the Christmas holiday following earlier security scares.

In September, anti-terrorism police said they had thwarted an imminent threat to behead a random member of the public and days later, a teenager in the city of Melbourne was shot dead after attacking two anti-terrorism officers with a knife.

The siege cafe is in Martin Place, a pedestrian strip popular with workers on a lunch break, which was revealed as a potential location for the thwarted beheading.

"We're possibly looking at a lone wolf who has sympathies to global jihad or someone with mental health issues in search of a cause," said Adam Dolnik, a professor at the University of Wollongong who has trained Sydney police in hostage negotiations. "This is all about attention."

"PRETTY WEIRD"

Scores of armed police surrounded the cafe after the siege began around 5:45 a.m. ET on Sunday. The area is home to the Reserve Bank of Australia, commercial banks and close to the New South Wales state parliament.


"I walked up to the door and then everyone was sitting down and the door's locked which is pretty weird because it's never locked and there was one guy walking around with a hat and a beard," a man who identified himself as Bruno, a worker at the cafe, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp, referring to the suspected assailant. He said he then turned away.

Grainy images of the suspected assailant showed what appeared to be a middle-aged man wearing a headband and a white shirt.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said staff had been locked down inside the building and were all safe.

The nearby U.S. consulate was also evacuated, according to an embassy spokeswoman, along with the Sydney Opera House. Tourists were being let back into the world-famous venue by early afternoon but performances on Monday and Tuesday were canceled.

India's parliamentary affairs minister said an Indian IT professional may be among the hostages.

"Whatever steps need to be taken, are being taken. We don't want to discuss it because there is some information that one of our Indian IT professionals also is there," Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

HIGH ALERT

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East.


News footage showed hostages holding up a black and white flag displaying the Shahada - a testament to the faith of Muslims. The flag has been popular among Sunni Islamist militant groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The incident forced the evacuation of nearby buildings and sent shockwaves around a country where many people were turning their attention to the Christmas holiday following earlier security scares.

Hostages seen running from Sydney cafe
An armed assailant was holding an unknown number of hostages in a central Sydney cafe.
In September, anti-terrorism police said they had thwarted an imminent threat to behead a random member of the public and days later, a teenager in the city of Melbourne was shot dead after attacking two anti-terrorism officers with a knife.

The siege cafe is in Martin Place, a pedestrian strip popular with workers on a lunch break, which was revealed as a potential location for the thwarted beheading.

"We're possibly looking at a lone wolf who has sympathies to global jihad or someone with mental health issues in search of a cause," said Adam Dolnik, a professor at the University of Wollongong who has trained Sydney police in hostage negotiations. "This is all about attention."


In the biggest security operation in Sydney since a bombing at the Hilton Hotel killed two people in 1978, major banks closed their offices in the central business district and people were told to avoid the area.

Muslim leaders urged calm. The Australian National Imams Council condemned "this criminal act unequivocally" in a joint statement with the Grand Mufti of Australia.

Concerns about an attack in Australia by Islamists have been growing for more than a year, with the security agency raising its national terrorism public alert to "high" in September.

BANKS AND SHOPS CLOSE

In the biggest security operation in Sydney since a bombing at the Hilton Hotel killed two people in 1978, major banks closed their offices in the central business district and people were told to avoid the area. As night fell, large parts of the central city were all but deserted.

Muslim leaders urged calm, with the Australian National Imams Council condemning "this criminal act unequivocally" in a joint statement with the Grand Mufti of Australia. An inter-faith prayer meeting at one of Sydney's grand mosques passed off peacefully despite threats of protests from far-right groups.

Currency market traders said the hostage news may have contributed to a dip in the Australian dollar, which was already under pressure from global risk aversion as oil prices fell anew.

Several media outlets reported they had been contacted by hostages passing on claims and demands from the gunman, including the possible presence of explosives in the building and elsewhere in the city.

Police said they were aware of media reports but said the "situation is contained in one area".


Concerns about an attack in Australia by Islamists have been growing for more than a year, with the security agency raising its national terrorism public alert to "high" in September.

That month, a spokesman for the Islamic State urged supporters in Western nations, including Australia, to attack civilians or military personnel at home.

[HairOfTheDog]

looks like this has been sorted out...
Man Haron Monis, a self-styled sheik, 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.

Monis, also known as Sheik Haron, was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife who was stabbed and set alight in a Sydney apartment block.

He was 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 reports.

Earlier this year, Monis, who describes himself as a "spiritual healer," was charged with the indecent and sexual assault of a Sydney woman in 2002. Further charges were laid in October.

It's being reported that the piece of shit was killed in the raid.

Whether any of the hostages were killed is unclear from media reports. I sure hope not.

[HairOfTheDog]

A 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, who were among the hostages, were shot and pronounced dead at hospital. Two women were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

It's under investigation whether the hostages who were killed and injured were hit by police fire or by their captor.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15...een-killed

[SIXFOOTERsez]

The religion of light and peace

[Maggot]

Poor Akmed.

[HairOfTheDog]

SYDNEY—The 16-hour siege of a Sydney cafe ended with three people dead, including the lone gunman whose Islamist rhetoric raised fears in Australia about the threat posed by radicalized individuals with no clear links to organized terror groups.

Two hostages—a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman—were killed during the siege. Police, who said the raid was triggered by the sound of gunshots, didn’t say whether the victims’ wounds came from the gunman himself.

The gunman was identified as 50-year-old Man Haron Monis , a self-proclaimed Shiite cleric with a history of run-ins with Australian law enforcement.

One of the dead hostages was identified as Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old lawyer and mother of three, who worked at Eight Selborne Chambers in nearby Phillip Street. New South Wales Bar Association President Jane Needham said Ms. Dawson was a devoted mother and “one of our best and brightest barristers who will be greatly missed by her colleagues.”

The second hostage who died was the 34-year-old manager of the cafe, Tori Johnson. “We are very proud of our beautiful boy Tori, gone from this earth but forever in our memories as the most amazing life partner, son and brother we could ever wish for,” said Mr. Johnson’s family in a statement.

Full story: http://www.wsj.com/articles/sydney-cafe-...1418630919


RIP Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson

[HairOfTheDog]

SYDNEY CAFE SIEGE INQUEST BEGINS
Of the five shots fired by Man Haron Monis, a self-styled Muslim cleric who took 18 people hostage, only one found a target, counsel assisting the coroner Jeremy Gormly told the inquest.

Early in inquest proceedings, it was revealed that Monis shot and killed cafe manager Tori Johnson execution-style, prompting police to storm the cafe in the early hours of December 16, Gormly said.

All the injuries that followed -- two fatal, including those to Monis, and four non-fatal -- were caused by police fire, according to the evidence.

The asshole Monis, who had pledged allegiance to ISIS on his website, was at the cafe for an hour, having cake and tea, before he put on a bandana, pulled his sawed-off shotgun and took hostages.

The inquest continues.

Story: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/29/world/...index.html


CRACKDOWN ON WOULD-BE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN AUSTRALIA YESTERDAY
Two men have been charged with plotting attacks in Australia following a major counter-terrorism operation in Sydney.


The men ^, named in court documents as Omar Al-Kutobi and Mohammad Kiad, were advanced in their preparations for an act of terrorism in Australia as revenge for "incidents overseas," New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said in a statement Wednesday.

They were apprehended on Tuesday afternoon after a raid at a house in Fairfield, a suburb in western Sydney, before being charged with "acts done in preparation for, or planning terrorist acts," the statement said.

"As a result of the police activities yesterday a number of items were seized and will be included as part of our evidence in court, and include a video recording, a flag, a machete and a hunting knife," Burn added.

Story: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/10/asia/a...index.html