Via Daily Mail:

Terrorists are today holding up to 20 hostages in an armed siege in a cafe in Sydney where a black Islamic 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, in Martin Place.

There are unconfirmed reports that one of the hostage-takers has made contact with police saying that he has ‘devices all over the city’ and ‘wants to speak with the prime minister live on radio’, according to Ray Hadley, from 2GB.

Up to two gunmen are involved in the siege but dozens of armed police have sealed off the streets surrounding the site. One gunman is believed to have a shotgun and possibly an explosive device.

The incident began just hours after a 25-year-old suspect was arrested in a terror raid in Sydney.

Officials have also evacuated the Opera House after reports of a suspicious device.

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Fortunately, they seem to have scaled down the number of people being held from 40 to what is now thought to be 13.

Buzzfeed and other media are reporting that the flag raised was “the shahada”, not the ISIS flag. Sigh. They don’t seem to realize the ISIS Flag IS the Shahada. This is just another variant flag. Both flags, the ISIS and the one raised here, contain the shahada, i.e. the prayer “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of God”.

If this is tied to the arrest of the terror suspect, Omarjan Azari, who planned to behead someone on behalf of ISIS in the same location, this may be the back end of that plan.

Sydney Opera House was evacuated after suspicious package found. Reports are the suspect threatened other locations in the area.

Footage of gunman:

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