[MTVN]

Terrorists were today holding hostages in an armed siege in a cafe in Sydney where an ISIS flag was held up in the window.

It is unclear how many people are involved in the siege in a Lindt cafe in Martin Place but people could be seen with their hands pressed against the windows.

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

The Seven Network newsroom, which is in a building opposite the cafe, has also been evacuated.

Mia Burns, a news producer for Seven, tweeted: 'Hostages against the glass of Lindt café. Some are shaking and sobbing.'

Other buildings in Martin Place, including the nearby Westpac building, have been cleared.

It was alleged that Omarjan Azari, the 22-year-old Sydney man arrested on terrorism charges in September, was planning a public beheading in Martin Place.

The alleged terror plot, mentioned in a conversation between Australian terrorism recruiter in Syria, Mohammad Ali Barylei and Azari, involved selecting a member of the public at random, beheading them and then covering their body in a flag.

The whole incident was going to be filmed, and then used as propaganda for the ISIS cause.

Federal prosecutors said the alleged terror plot was ‘clearly designed to shock, horror and terrify the community’

Police Prosecutor Michael Allnutt said that Azari had made a threat which involved a ‘random selection of persons to execute’ during a telephone conversation with Baryalei.

Azari was arrested on September 18 and charged with preparing for an act of terrorism.

He is due in court this week for a bail application.

Martin Place is one of Sydney’s busiest streets and is at the centre of the CBD. The Lindt cafe where the hostages are being held specialises in chocolate and has a number of branches across the city.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz3Lv1opZxv
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Christ :/

[T*]

Oh my god

[MTVN]

Live coverage: http://www.theguardian.com/australia...lace-cafe-live

[Benjamin]

Jesus Christ, now they are targetting Oz?

[T*]

I hope everyone will be okay omfg this is scary

[Vicky.]

****ing hell...

[Kizzy]

That waitress looks terrified, I really hope they are released safe.

[Ninastar]

horrific... i know its not a popular opinion here but i hope they get killed

i just have NO sympathy for these ****ing bastards

this will not end well.

[T*]

Originally Posted by Urwreatha

horrific... i know its not a popular opinion here but i hope they get killed

i just have sympathy for these ****ing bastards

this will not end well.

I hope the scum get killed too
those poor, innocent people I hope everyone (except the terrorists) will be okay

[Ninastar]

i haVE NO SYMPATHY for them

what a bad typo

[T*]

My colleague Oliver Milman is down at Martin Place and says a witness saw a man with a gun enter the cafe and police quickly follow. This was about 9.45am. It was initially thought to be an armed robbery.

It is not known exactly how many hostages are inside but Channel Seven is reporting police sources as telling them 13. Four have been seen in the windows where they were made to stand with their hands up.

Omfg

[Benjamin]

Sounds like one of the random hostages may be beheaded from some of the news sources I have read

[T*]

Originally Posted by XmasTurtle

Sounds like one of the random hostages may be beheaded from some of the news sources I have read

holy ****
I hope no kids/babies are inside, Please let there be none omfg

[T*]

It is important to emphasise, despite some media reports, that there is no confirmation the black flag with white writing hung in the window is an Isis flag. It looks to have Arabic writing and we are standing by for a translation.

.

[T*]

Buses to the Sydney CBD are being diverted and the airspace over Sydney has been shut down.

.

[Ninastar]

im shaking... i feel sick

****ing cowards

[T*]

I'm scared

[Creggle]

I hope the aussie coppers fire hollow points, nice and painful.

[Drew.]

I dont think it is the ISIS flags

[T*]

What if they attack the UK?

[T*]

jesus ****ing christ this is vile

[Ninastar]

Originally Posted by Mistletom

What if they attack the UK?

well look what happened last week in the west midlands

the threat is here. it will happen soon enough.

thankfully our defence seems to be better than them

who knows how long it will last though

[T*]

My colleague Michael Safi reports the flag in the cafe window appears to bear the Shahada: “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of God”.

He reports:

The flag that hostages appear to have been forced to hold up in the window of the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place is not the Islamic State flag - but that isn’t to say that Isis is not involved in today’s incident.
The flag appears to bear the Shahada, an Islamic creed which reads: “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of God”.
It’s a perfectly benign symbol and appears across the Islamic world, including on the Saudi Arabian flag. But it has also been embraced by jihadi groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate currently fighting in Syria.
Two Queensland men were arrested in September for allegedly trying to enter Syria to fight with the group, or facilitate the entry of others. Having said that, Jabhat Al-Nusra have not been known to have the capacity or inclination to carry out terror attacks outside Syria.

.

[T*]

Originally Posted by Urwreatha

well look what happened last week in the west midlands

the threat is here. it will happen soon enough.

thankfully our defence seems to be better than them

who knows how long it will last though

It's scary, what if it happens close to home like in Liverpool 1 or the trafford centre, it's horrid as I could be put in one of these situations.

I know its probably not going to but the risk is there, it's vile

[Creggle]

Originally Posted by Mistletom

It's scary, what if it happens close to home like in Liverpool 1 or the trafford centre, it's horrid as I could be put in one of these situations.

I know its probably not going to but the risk is there, it's vile

This is exactly what the cowards want, they want you to be terrified, don't worry about it and don't give them what they want.