A gunman took a group of more than a dozen people hostage inside a Lindt cafe in Sydney on Monday and forced them to hold up a black flag with white Arabic writing in the window.
Many of the hostages were held in the cafe for more than 16 hours. Police stormed the cafe after several hostages were seen fleeing. Local media outlets report hearing loud gunfire and an alarm going off in the cafe.
Paramedics are on scene. Several people are seriously injured, according to local media reports.
Police were seen carrying a woman out of the cafe:
Here they are entering the building:
(This story is being edited live as the story develops. You can refresh it by clicking here.)
Earlier in the day, five people came running out of the cafe. Fifteen people were reportedly still trapped after that.
It is unclear whether the five hostages escaped on their own or were released.
Police have been negotiating with the hostage-taker.
Two videos showing hostages in the cafe making demands were posted to YouTube, but they were taken down by the website a short while later.
According to the videos, a gunman holding the hostages says he is a member of the Islamic State. The videos show requests for a safe line of communication with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to negotiate.
Hostages in the cafe also contacted media organizations to voice demands from the gunman. It's unclear whether the gunman is indeed connected to Islamic militants or is just claiming a connection.
"This is a very disturbing incident," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a televised message. "It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation."
Police have been unable to confirm the exact number of people in the cafe.
So far, nobody has been harmed.
"It might take a bit of time, and I can assure you we want to resolve this peacefully," deputy police commissioner Catherine Burn said.
Local news stations captured footage of some hostages fleeing the cafe:
Police are on scene:
A reporter for 7 News in Sydney has been tweeting updates describing the scene:
Here is video direct from the scene as the first of the hostages escaped:
And the second, via Vine:
Abbott has previously warned about militant plans to attack Australian targets.
Australia, which is backing the US and its escalating action against the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by homegrown fighters returning from the conflict in the Middle East. There's also the threat of self-radicalized individuals who might claim a connection to a terror group even when none really exists.
Dozens of heavily armed police surrounded the cafe in Martin Place, home to the Reserve Bank of Australia and commercial banks. It's also close to the New South Wales state parliament.
Television footage showed several people inside the cafe standing with their hands pressed against the windows.
Pictures showed a black and white flag similar to those used by the Islamic State group being held up by what appeared to be a staff member and another woman. The flag is not actually an ISIS flag, however.
A couple hundred people were being held back by cordons and the fire brigade's hazardous unit was on the scene, a Reuters witness said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia near the cafe said staff had been locked down inside the building, with all members safe and accounted for.
The nearby Sydney Opera House was temporarily evacuated after a suspicious package was found, a staff member told Reuters. Tourists were being let back into the world-famous venue by early afternoon.
Trains and buses were stopped and roads were blocked in the area, with train operators saying there had been a bomb threat at Martin Place.
Qantas Airways Ltd. said planes were avoiding flying over the central business district but were landing as normal. An ABC News photo shows parts of Sydney looking deserted.
Traders in currency markets said the hostage news might have contributed to a dip in the Australian dollar, which was already under pressure from global risk aversion as oil prices fell anew. The local currency was pinned at $0.8227, having hit its lowest since mid-2010 last week.
It is unclear whether the five hostages escaped on their own or were released.
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