Gunmen take hostages in Sydney cafe

[sg1008]

Not many details yet, but it looks like IS or alqaeda sympathisers. They don't say how many people are there.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30473983

[sg1008]

Actually....BBC is useless. A bit more info: EDIT: at that point in time BBC was useless. Now the link is more informative.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html

"Terrorists were today holding up to 12 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.

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.

‘We’re just recommending no one go near Martin Place at the moment,’ a NSW Police spokeswoman said.

Martin Place train station has been closed and public buses are being turned away.

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’.

[Arya Quinn]

Actually....BBC is useless. A bit more info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html

Hold on. You say the BBC is useless, then you go on to use an article from the infamous Daily Mail. One of the most biased, fearmongering and right-wing newspapers the UK has to offer.

I know that the BBC is no angel (it's news shows/channels can be very biased at times) but what the actual fuck SG? 



I hope the hostages get out okay of course. Does anyone know if the terrorists have given any demands yet?

e: Multiple sources have confirmed that it's terrorists, so I changed my post

[Al Swearegen]

It's fucking terrible. I hope that YourMum and Eclair are ok.
PM has cut live broadcasting. Shit is about to get ugly there

[Yuri Bezmenov]

I'm waiting for Benji and Rage to explain how this is all the fault of zionism.               

[odeon]

I still think ISIS, or whatever they call themselves these days, warrants ground troops and whatever other means that may prove to be necessary to bring them down.

[Al Swearegen]

5 Hostages released 40 remain. I think the tactic is wait them out and when they get too frustrated and angry go in hard. Get as many hostages out before things go too bad.

['andersom']

Bloody hell.

[Semicolon]

Actually....BBC is useless. A bit more info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html

Hold on. You say the BBC is useless, then you go on to use an article from the infamous Daily Mail. One of the most biased, fearmongering and right-wing newspapers the UK has to offer.

I know that the BBC is no angel (it's news shows/channels can be very biased at times) but what the actual fuck SG? 



I hope the hostages get out okay of course. Does anyone know if the terrorists have given any demands yet?

e: Multiple sources have confirmed that it's terrorists, so I changed my post

[sg1008]

Actually....BBC is useless. A bit more info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html

Hold on. You say the BBC is useless, then you go on to use an article from the infamous Daily Mail. One of the most biased, fearmongering and right-wing newspapers the UK has to offer.

I know that the BBC is no angel (it's news shows/channels can be very biased at times) but what the actual fuck SG? 



I hope the hostages get out okay of course. Does anyone know if the terrorists have given any demands yet?

e: Multiple sources have confirmed that it's terrorists, so I changed my post

omg I don't think BBC is entirely useless lol; my comment pertained to that bit of news (at that point in time which had about three sentences and merely said hostages were taken...no details about the hostages, no photos, no nothing. But daily mail had much more information (at that point in time). So they were more useful at that point in time. NOW the BBC link has a lot of information.

But at the time posted the link it basically had nothing. And thus...when I discovered all the information on the other link I thought "well thanks BBC for being so informative- NOT".

And like I said...this was when the news first broke internationally...so BBC had nothing. A minute later they had added a fourth sentence. And now I see they have added all kinds of tabs and photos.

[sg1008]

5 Hostages released 40 remain. I think the tactic is wait them out and when they get too frustrated and angry go in hard. Get as many hostages out before things go too bad.

forty!?  geesh.

The report that there were 12 was bad enough...dang.

Apparently the flag is not an IS flag...but it's definitely a "jihadist" flag. They all look similar, black with white symbols or lettering. The Ottomans used a black flag in WW1....for the violent jihadists it has another meaning; they think the coming of the messiah will be heralded by violent upheaval coming out of central asia of people carrying black banners.

Not sure why everyone seems to think the messiah will come to fight a war for them. Maybe he will just start an organic farm.

People don't have to be violent to get what they want.....I guess if you are convinced an entire group of people are your enemies you would feel it is necessary to harm them. But...to feel that so many people are out to get you is a terrible way to live. Imagine thinking that many people hate you?

I guess if you don't commit suicide the next best options are to shoot up a school or join a violent gang. Then you really will be hated by almost everyone.... thats a self-fulfilling prophecy right there.

[sg1008]

Aussie Islamic Community issued a statement just now:
https://www.facebook.com/156499484373756/photos/a.620577617965938.1073741828.156499484373756/900989313258099/?type=1&permPage=1

[Al Swearegen]

5 Hostages released 40 remain. I think the tactic is wait them out and when they get too frustrated and angry go in hard. Get as many hostages out before things go too bad.

forty!?  geesh.

The report that there were 12 was bad enough...dang.

Apparently the flag is not an IS flag...but it's definitely a "jihadist" flag. They all look similar, black with white symbols or lettering. The Ottomans used a black flag in WW1....for the violent jihadists it has another meaning; they think the coming of the messiah will be heralded by violent upheaval coming out of central asia of people carrying black banners.

Not sure why everyone seems to think the messiah will come to fight a war for them. Maybe he will just start an organic farm.

People don't have to be violent to get what they want.....I guess if you are convinced an entire group of people are your enemies you would feel it is necessary to harm them. But...to feel that so many people are out to get you is a terrible way to live. Imagine thinking that many people hate you?

I guess if you don't commit suicide the next best options are to shoot up a school or join a violent gang. Then you really will be hated by almost everyone.... thats a self-fulfilling prophecy right there.

The thing is too, Australia is pretty secular. It is far from Fundamentalist.

Fighting against us as a religiously opposed state or whatever, is pretty stupid.

[Al Swearegen]

Aussie Islamic Community issued a statement just now:
https://www.facebook.com/156499484373756/photos/a.620577617965938.1073741828.156499484373756/900989313258099/?type=1&permPage=1

Really sucks that they feel they have to come out in support like that. Nice that they do, but they are Aussies like everyone else in that cafe and everyone in Australia watching. Only a minority would be stupid and racist enough to think they were not as disgusted as the rest of us (and those people would not be convinced by such an act of good faith - because they are racists)

['andersom']

5 Hostages released 40 remain. I think the tactic is wait them out and when they get too frustrated and angry go in hard. Get as many hostages out before things go too bad.

forty!?  geesh.

The report that there were 12 was bad enough...dang.

Apparently the flag is not an IS flag...but it's definitely a "jihadist" flag. They all look similar, black with white symbols or lettering. The Ottomans used a black flag in WW1....for the violent jihadists it has another meaning; they think the coming of the messiah will be heralded by violent upheaval coming out of central asia of people carrying black banners.

Not sure why everyone seems to think the messiah will come to fight a war for them. Maybe he will just start an organic farm.

People don't have to be violent to get what they want.....I guess if you are convinced an entire group of people are your enemies you would feel it is necessary to harm them. But...to feel that so many people are out to get you is a terrible way to live. Imagine thinking that many people hate you?

I guess if you don't commit suicide the next best options are to shoot up a school or join a violent gang. Then you really will be hated by almost everyone.... thats a self-fulfilling prophecy right there.

The thing is too, Australia is pretty secular. It is far from Fundamentalist.

Fighting against us as a religiously opposed state or whatever, is pretty stupid.

For a fundamentalist group, that makes you a clear danger/target. If not as enemy, than at least for publicity/advertising reasons. "Look how cool we are, we have the guts to deal with those who are not one of us".