An armed man, appearing to be a supporter of the terrorist organization ISIS, has taken many hostages after sieging cafe Lindt in Sydney Australia.
The armed man has forced some of the hostages to hung in the window of the cafe what appears to be a Nusra front flag, an Al-Qaeda offshoot.
The Australian authorities are cooperating with the US ones and have identified the hostage-taker(image underneath), yet asked the media not to reveal his name.
Australian Prime minister Tony Abbott said the hostage taker is “claiming political motivation”.
“Obviously, images have been beamed around our country and around the world. I’ve received messages of support from a number of international leaders and I thank them for their encouragement on this difficult day. Yes, it has been a difficult day. Yes, it is a day which has tested us, but so far, like Australians in all sorts of situations, we have risen to the challenge,” the Australian Prime Minister said.
Until the very time of writing these lines, 5 hostages has been released.
It was reported by local sources that the total number of hostages is not more than 30, but no exact number is know yet.
The Guardian said that “hostages have contacted at least three separate media outlets saying the hostage taker has two demands – to talk to the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and to have an Isis flag delivered to the cafe.”
The Moroccan Times.
