Infosys employee among hostages at Sydney cafe,Gunman seeks IS flag

Published on:

15 Dec 2014, 12:00 am

An Infosys employee is among the hostages at a Sydney cafe, the IT company said today.

"We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the lindt Cafe in Sydney," the Bengaluru- headquartered company said.

"We are also in the process of confirming the whereabouts of all our other employees in the city. We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground," Infosys said in a statement.

It said the employee's family has been informed and "we are extending all possible support to them in this difficult time."

"We hope that this situation gets resolved peacefully and at the earliest. Our prayers are with the families of all involved," the statement added.

An armed man today took an undisclosed number of people hostage at a popular cafe at Sydney and displayed an Islamic flag with Arabic script in the window, sparking a security alert in Australia.

Sydney siege: Gunman seeks IS flag, talks with PM

Sydeny: An armed man, who Monday took over 30 people hostage inside a cafe in Sydney's central business district, has demanded police provide an Islamic State (IS) flag to him and also said that he wanted to talk to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The lindt Chocolat Cafe hostage taker has requested for an IS flag, Sydney Morning Herald reported citing a Muslim community leader as saying.

"The man inside the café said that if police could get him an IS flag, then he would release some hostages," said the leader.

Possession of the IS flag is illegal in Australia.

"A contact I know from Counter Terrorism phoned me four or five times Monday asking if I could find them an IS flag, in a hurry. At one stage I had a team of people trying to find one," the leader said.

After receiving the calls, the community leader rang everyone she knew.

"I must have called 50 people trying to find an IS flag. I found plenty of people who had one, but they didn't want to give them up. They also believed that the police were trying set them up." the leader said.

The leader said that the request might indicate the gunman wished to be seen as part of the IS.

"Or it could mean that he could be from Jabhat Al-Nusra, which hates IS, and he might want to burn that IS flag to make a statement," the source said.

According to reports, the gunman also wanted to talk to Prime Minister Abbott.

The dramatic siege took place in Sydney's bustling central business district, days ahead of Christmas.

The hostages were seen standing with their hands up at the windows of the lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place. There was also a black and white flag, believed to be a jihadi flag, being held up on a window.

Five hostages managed to flee, police said and added that nobody was harmed till now.

Abbott called for calm as security personnel tried feverishly to tackle the siege.

Five hostages escape from Sydney cafe

Five hostages, including two female workers, Monday escaped to safety from a cafe where over 30 people are being held hostage by gunman in this Australian city.

Five hostages have made it out of the cafe at Martin Place, Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

An armed man took the people hostage inside the lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney's central business district.

Siege in Sydney: Gunman takes hostages in cafe

A gunman took over 30 people hostage at a busy cafe located not far from the Indian consulate in this Australian city.

The dramatic siege took place in Sydney's bustling central business district, days ahead of Christmas.

Heavily armed police responded quickly and surrounded the building. There were conflicting reports about the number of hostages. While one account put the number of hostages at 20, another account said that there were over 30 hostages.

Three hostages managed to flee, police said and added that nobody was harmed in the initial hours.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for calm as security personnel tried feverishly to tackle the siege.

Thousands of workers across the city have been sent home early and some of the city's major buildings including the Opera House, the State library, Channel Seven, the New South Wales parliamentary executive offices, the NSW Supreme Court's criminal courts, the Downing Centre and several city legal chambers were evacuated.

The Indian consulate is located less than a kilometre away.

Abbott said police "are currently responding to a reported hostage taking incident in Martin Place in Sydney".

The National Security Committee of the Cabinet has also been convened for briefings on the situation.

The prime minister described it as a "deeply concerning incident, but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner".

In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the siege.

"The incident in Sydney is disturbing. Such acts are inhuman and deeply unfortunate. I pray for everyone's safety," the prime minister said in a statement.

New South Wales (NSW) police commissioner Andrew Scipione said police were yet to make contact with the the one or more offenders who laid seige at the lindt Chocolat Cafe, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"We are still determining what it is that may well be the motivation. We are not in a position to determine where the individual is from," the paper quoted Scipione as saying.