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Hostages Taken in Sydney

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Steven F

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Hostages have been taken in a Sydney, Australia Lindt Chocolate Cafe in a possible Islamic Jihadist "attack". There is a lot of speculation going around right now.

No one has been killed! Hostages in the cafe were forced to hold up Jihadist flags against the windows. It is unsure if there are one or two gunmen in the building*. One may (speculation based on observation by bystanders and of police) have been wearing a vest and backpack. The police have flak jackets.

ABC News Live Feed Relatively slow. Just a live news feed.

Yahoo7 Live Feed Same as ABC. No live video of the situation.

Best Update Source - Reddit He's keeping a pretty solid update going.

New Reddit Source

I've posted this due to the potential global affect this may have. Given that this is currently believed to be a terrorist attack, which is just speculation, it may have very big implications. I will try to edit in updates, as they occur. Please use this thread as a discussion.

Picture of cafe goers and employees holding up the Jihadist flag.

Picture of tactical units around the building where hostages were taken.

Picture of suspected hostage taker in the building.

Updates

* - An employee who managed to escape has confirmed there are two gunmen.

  - A suspicious package was left in a Sydney hospital.

  - Police are supposedly storming the building. I'm pretty sure this was just shoddy journalism.

* - Looks like there is only one gunman... I don't trust this source.

  - Added a picture of the suspected hostage taker.

  - Prime Minister Tony Abott will be addressing the media at 1:30 GMT

  - Police are now attempting to make contact with the hostage taker.

  - Suspicious object found at the famous Sydney Opera House. Police are responding. The building has been evacuated.

  - Heard over the police scanner: no update on the hospital package. Though, it's really hard to hear and the accents don't help.

  - The CEO of Lindt says there are around 50 people holed up in the cafe in central Sydney.

  - The Prime Minister's address has been delayed 10 minutes to 1:40 GMT.

  - The Opera House is believed to have been cleared at this time.

  - We're now three hours into this...
 
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Steven F

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Nick said:
Call in the Commando's. Those ISIS pricks won't know what hit them.
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It is not known if there is any affiliation with any Jihadist/terrorist group at this time. The flag used was a general, non-specific flag.
 
Nick

Nick

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Moderator
Steven F said:
It is not known if there is any affiliation with any Jihadist/terrorist group at this time. The flag used was a general, non-specific flag.
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That flag says "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of God." Thats a pretty strong and certain link to ISIS for me.
 
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Steven F

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Nick said:
That flag says "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of God." Thats a pretty strong and certain link to ISIS for me.
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It's a general Jihadist flag that indicates absolutely no group or organization. Think what you want, but there is no link nor any indication to anyone backing this terrorist.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahada#Use_on_flags
 
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lbft

lbft

New Member
Terrorist attack? Seems more like a crazy guy with a gun who happens to be a radical religious nut, rather than any sort of organised terrorist attack - 13 people in a cafe is too small for that awful purpose.

I'd put zero faith in The Australian's coverage; they're sensationalist shitheads who'd sell their own mothers if it got them more clicks. I'm keeping my eye on the ABC (public broadcaster) and 7 News, who are literally across the road and have cameras pointed at it (although the police have asked them to stop showing the live footage).
 
R

RTGHM

New Member
Nick said:
That flag says "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of God." Thats a pretty strong and certain link to ISIS for me.
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Roll the military out, take the building by force. Sniper take out gun men - those guys don't deserve to make it out of there for what they do.
 
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Steven F

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lbft said:
Terrorist attack? Seems more like a crazy guy with a gun who happens to be a radical religious nut, rather than any sort of organised terrorist attack - 13 people in a cafe is too small for that awful purpose.

I'd put zero faith in The Australian's coverage; they're sensationalist shitheads who'd sell their own mothers if it got them more clicks. I'm keeping my eye on the ABC (public broadcaster) and 7 News, who are literally across the road and have cameras pointed at it (although the police have asked them to stop showing the live footage).
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I was about to pull The Australian, as I came to that same conclusion pretty quickly.

This is a terrorist attack, whether or not it was organized by a large group. However, it is causing some hysteria. There is more going on, currently, and it's unclear if this is an organized attack or just one religious nut.
 
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Steven F

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RTGHM said:
Roll the military out, take the building by force. Sniper take out gun men - those guys don't deserve to make it out of there for what they do.
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I'm sure that your years of training and experience in hostage situations is appreciated by the Australian government.
 
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Steven F

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RTGHM said:
I'm just saying it'd be a lot easier than sitting around trying to "talk the situation down"
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How about we leave the tough decisions to the professionals, because this is a serious matter with dozens (potentially hundreds) of lives at stake. There are offices above the cafe with people stuck, waiting. They don't know if there are one or two gunmen. They don't know if the gunmen has any explosives. They are doing the right thing and are playing it safely.

Edit:

The CEO has stated there are 50 people IN THE CAFE.
 
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Steven F

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I can no longer update the original post, as its been an hour.

Updates

  - Police are helping people in the offices above the Lindt Cafe evacuate the building.

  - The US Consulate in Sydney has sent its employees home and issued a warning to American citizens.

  - Abott has spoken. I personally think he said nothing intelligent. He did say that the NSW Police will begin providing operational updates shortly.

I'm popping out. The series finale of The Newsroom is on and I can no longer update my original post, pretty much invalidating the point of updating. I hope everyone stays safe and that this ends peacefully.
 
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Aldryic C'boas

Aldryic C'boas

The Pony
RTGHM said:
I'm just saying it'd be a lot easier than sitting around trying to "talk the situation down"
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You only think ending a life is 'the easy way out' because you've never had to do it yourself.  Once you've looked into someone's eye and ended everything they are by your own hands, regardless of how justified you think it may be, THEN come tell me just how easy it is.
 
trewq

trewq

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3 people have come out with hands up. Two out front door, one out fire exit. Still unknown how or why they were allowed to exit.
 
MannDude

MannDude

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What is that that are demanding? Everyone is unharmed so far, correct?

EDIT: Clearly I've only skimmed headlines/discussion.
 
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trewq

trewq

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MannDude said:
What is that that are demanding? Everyone is unharmed so far, correct?

EDIT: Clearly I've only skimmed headlines/discussion.
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No demands, not aware of motive, no one is hurt. 5 people in total are out, one in hospital in satisfactory and stable condition.
 
Nick

Nick

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Moderator
Steven F said:
I'm sure that your years of training and experience in hostage situations is appreciated by the Australian government.
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He's on the right track. Take a look at the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980. 6 armed men take 26 people hostage. SAS (would now be Commando's for counter-terrorism) take out 5 of the 6 armed men with none of the hostages being injured.


The Australian's have some pretty top notch special forces and they will come in if/when it's required.
 
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