Emergency personnel help an injured hostage in Sydney. (Associated Press photo)
The Sydney siege was over in the early hours of Tuesday - with Australian police storming the downtown cafe where a gunman had been holding nearly 30 people hostage for 16 hours. The gunman, Man Haron Monis, died. Two hostages were also killed. Two Indians, who were among the hostages, are safe.
Here are the latest developments in this story:
Moments before the police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place, at least 12 suspected hostages were seen running out. Among them were two Indians, Infosys employees Viswakanth Ankireddy and Pushpendu Ghosh.
The hostage taker, Monis, was an Iranian refugee with a criminal past, Australian police said. A self-styled Sheikh, he had been accused of sexual assault and was known for sending hate mail to families of Australian soldiers killed overseas.
Mounis kept over 30 people hostage at the cafe, a major shopping and pedestrian thoroughfare in the central business district. He had warned about four bombs planted in the city. He had also reportedly demanded to speak to Prime Minister Tony Abbott and an Islamic State flag.
Five hours into the siege, which began at around 9.45 am local time (4.15 am IST), five hostages had managed to escape.
Through the day, Monis had forced the rest to hold up a flag displaying the Shahada - a profession of faith in Islam. The flag is popular among Sunni Islamist militant groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
As the crisis deepened, snipers and a SWAT team barricaded Martin place. Police helicopters circled overhead. Negotiators established contact with Monis.
The Reserve Bank of Australia locked its staff in the building. The nearby US consulate and the Sydney Opera House were evacuated. The Indian consulate, about 400 m from the cafe, was closed down.
Concerns about lone-wolf attacks have been on since September, when a high alert was issued after an Islamic State spokesman urged supporters to launch attacks in Australia and the West. Australia is an ally of the US, which is conducting airstrikes against the IS in Iraq and Syria.
"I am deeply concerned about the threat that lone wolf terrorism poses to people," Prime Minister Tony Abbott had said.
Today, after the hostage crisis started, Mr Abbott said the hostage taker could have political motivations. The police are yet to say what Monis' motive was.
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