Sydney siege: Hostages held in a cafe, made to hold up Islamic flags

[caption id=“attachment_1849719” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] 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. AP/ Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849723” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] 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[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1850761” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] Armed tactical response police grab a hostage as she runs free from the cafe. Police did not reveal how many people were still being held as hostages in the cafe. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1850765” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] Police evacuate people from an office building close to the cafe. The NCW police said their top priority was the safety of innocent lives. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1850771” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] “Your safety is our No 1 priority,” said the NCW police commissioner at a press conference. He also said the world’s best negotiators were present at the scene. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1850777” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] Armed tactical response police stand watch into the evening near the cafe under seige. New South Wales state police would not say what was happening inside the cafe or whether hostages were being held. But television footage shot through the cafe’s windows showed several people with their arms in the air. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849725” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] Police officers gesture near Lindt cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney. Dozens of hostages were trapped inside the central Sydney cafe on Monday, with local television showing some being forced to hold up a black flag with white Arabic writing in the window, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849727” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] This image taken from video shows people holding up what appeared to be a black flag with white Arabic writing on it, inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia. AP Photo[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849729” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] A police officer runs across Martin Place near Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849731” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] 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. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849733” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] A woman is assisted as a group of people are evacuated by police from a building next to Lindt cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849735” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] This image taken from video shows a man believed to be a gunman inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia. AP Photo[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849737” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] People standing behind a police cordon look towards Lindt cafe in Martin Place, where hostages are being held, in central Sydney. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1849739” align=“alignleft” width=“940”] “Specialist officers are attempting to make contact (with) those inside a cafe,” police said in a statement. Reuters[/caption]