Police do not yet know whether or not it is a terrorist situation. However, two of the hostages are being forced to hold up a flag that has an Islamic declaration on it - but it apparently is not an ISIS flag.
They also do not yet know just how many hostages there are, or how many gunmen there are. Some believe that there may be as many as 20 hostages. The hostage takers have guns and possibly a bomb.
The motive for the event remains unknown. Hundreds of police have the Lindt Chocolat Cafe surrounded.
The hostage-takers claim to have devices all over the city. They have tried to get one of the hostages to contact the local radio station, and they want to talk to the prime minister on live radio.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/major-police-operation-unfolding-sydney-235744145.html
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sydney-hostage-crisis-know-dont-005239391.html
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Graphics: Mine
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Keywords: hostages, Sydney, Islamic, flag, Lindt, cafe