Sydney Siege in Sydney, Australia: Hostages Held in Lindt Cafe (LIVE VIDEO) (Update: Seige Over, Two people Dead Along with an Islamist Gunman)

Multiple hostages have been held in a Sydney, Australia cafe by a gunman in what appears to be an Islamist-linked attack.

VIDEO – CNN: Hostage situation inside a Sydney cafe

Australian police locked down the center of the country’s biggest city on Monday after an armed man walked into a busy downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack.

Police said they knew of one armed assailant involved in the incident at the Lindt chocolate cafe in the heart of Sydney’s financial district, but there could be more.

Click HERE for VIDEO

BBC:

A gunman is holding staff and customers hostage at a cafe in Sydney, Australia.

The Lindt cafe in the city centre is surrounded by armed police. Officers have made contact with the gunman.

Five people have been seen running from the building. It is not clear how many remain inside. A black Islamic flag has been displayed at the window.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was “profoundly shocking” that people were being “held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation”.

He was speaking after chairing a meeting of the national security committee in Canberra.

Earlier Mr Abbott said: “Australia is a peaceful, open and generous society – nothing should ever change that and that’s why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual.”

Senior police officers say they are on a footing “consistent with a terrorist event”.

UPDATE I: ABC – Australia.

Key Points:

• An armed offender is holding an “undisclosed number” of hostages inside the Lindt cafe in central Sydney, police say
• Almost seven hours into the siege, three people were seen running out of the cafe. An hour later another two emerged
• New South Wales Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn could not confirm how many people were being held hostage, but police believed it was fewer than 30
• Police are working to determine the motivation of the offender and have moved to a footing consistent with a terrorism event
• A black flag with white Arabic writing reading “There is no God but Allah” and “Mohammed is the messenger of God” was waved behind the hostages

UPDATE II: Five people flee from Sydney cafe amid hostage drama.

VIDEO – Watch ABC News 24 Live

UPDATE III: Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the gunman was “claiming political motivation.”

Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the gunman was “claiming political motivation” but after more than 15 hours had yet to declare the siege a terrorist event. However, police said they were “operating according to our counter-terrorism protocols” and NBC News analyst, ex-FBI-agent Don Borelli, told TODAY that the suspect appeared to be inspired by ISIS.

Chris Reason, a journalist with NBC News’ Australian partner Channel 7, said the hostage-taker was “forcing them to stand against windows, sometimes two hours at a time.” He added that the suspect seemed to be “getting extremely agitated” after the five hostages left.

Police would not confirm how many were still being held inside the Lindt cafe — where a black flag used by Islamist groups in the Middle East has been shown in the window.

UPDATE IV: Sydney siege: Gunman issued demands, threats.

UPDATE V: Sydney siege: Three dead after commandos storm cafe.

Two people died, along with an Islamist gunman, after commandos stormed a cafe in Sydney, Australia, to bring to an end a 16-hour siege.

Local media have named those who died as Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34 and lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38.

Four people were injured, including a policeman hit by shotgun pellets.

Central Sydney was put in lockdown as the gunman, identified as an Iranian refugee, seized dozens of hostages early on Monday.

The Lindt Chocolat Cafe is located in Martin Place, a busy shopping area in Sydney’s financial district.

The gunman, named as Man Haron Monis, forced some of the hostages to hold up a black Islamic banner at the window of the cafe.

American Photojournalist Luke Somers Held Hostage in Yemen Killed by al Qaeda During a Failed Rescue Operation

Thirty-three year old Luke Somers, the American photojournalist held hostage in Yemen, was killed by al-Qaeda terrorists during a failed rescue operation overnight. According to reports, at least 10 AQAP terrorists holding Somers were killed in the mission.  A South African teacher from the Relief group Gift of the Givers, Pierre Korkie, also being held by al Qaeda terrorists was killed. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the attempt to free the captives was justified; “There were compelling reasons to believe Mr. Somers’ life was in imminent danger.”  Earlier this week,  a video was posted by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) of Somers and threatened to kill him if unspecified demands were not met. Somers was kidnapped in Yemen in September 2013.

Luke Somers

American hostage Luke Somers was killed in a rescue attempt by the U.S. and Yemen Saturday.

A Yemeni national security official told Fox News Somers was still alive, but badly injured when U.S. special operation forces reached him in the rescue mission.

He had been injured by Al Qaeda militants during the raid. He would later die being transported to a U.S. Navy ship of Yemen.

Numerous AQAP terrorists holding the hostages captive were killed in the mission.

President Obama released a statement early Saturday morning condemning the “barbaric murder” of Somers by the Al Qaeda terrorists.

Obama said he ordered the rescue mission attempt Friday.

Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry all expressed their condolences to Somers’ family.

Reuters – U.S., South African hostages in Yemen killed in rescue attempt:

Major General Ali al-Ahmadi, chief of the national security bureau in Yemen, said Somers was killed during the raid and other hostages held by the group had been taken to field hospitals, but gave no details about them or their condition.

Somers was removed from the scene but died later from a wound he suffered during the rescue attempt, a senior official in the Yemeni president’s office said.

Relief group Gift of the Givers said teacher Pierre Korkie was also killed.

Obama Administration Paid Ransom and Released 5 Top Gitmo Detainees for Army Deserter Bowe Bergdahl

I thought the United States did not pay ransoms to terrorists?

It turns out that the Obama administration did pay money to terrorists in an attempt to get the release of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl. UNREAL. The Department of Defense did pay a ransom for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl but the transaction’s Afghan middle man ran off with the cash. This goes against previous Pentagon statements in 2009 where they denied doing any such thing. LIARS!!!  The ransom payment also goes against President Obama’s strategy finical strategy in pressuring foreign governments, corporations and families of captives not to pay ransom. What are the odds we will hear Obama say, he just learned about this scandal too? But when that failed, Obama did the next worse thing … released 5 GITMO terrorists for a deserter.

The Department of Defense attempted to pay a ransom for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl but the transaction’s Afghan intermediary ran off with the cash, according to a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

The claims directly contradict statements from the Pentagon, which has vehemently denied that it paid cash to a Taliban splinter group that captured Bergdahl in 2009. The administration in May released five-value Guantanamo Bay detainees in exchange for Bergdahl’s release.

Remember following the release of Bowe Bergdahl, FOX News reported that the Obama administration may have given the Taliban and Haqqani terrorists money as well as the five top Taliban prisoners? Watch the VIDEO below of the Catherine Herridge interview with Greta Van Susteran and On the Record.

VIDEO Hat Tip – The Gateway Pundit

The Washington Times:

The Pentagon is under fire for making a ransom payment to an Afghan earlier this year as part of a failed bid to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to U.S. officials.

Sgt. Bergdahl was released in May after nearly five years in captivity as part of a controversial exchange for five terrorists held at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ransom payment was first disclosed by Rep. Duncan Hunter in a Nov. 5 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Mr. Hunter stated in the letter that Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) made the payment covertly as part of a release deal. But the money was stolen by the Afghan intermediary claiming to represent the Haqqani terrorist network.

“Given the significance of this matter, as well as the fact that Pentagon officials have denied that a payment was even considered — and you also said you were unaware of any such attempt — I ask you to immediately inquire with JSOC to determine the specific order of events,” said Mr. Hunter, California Republican and member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Hunter also asked Mr. Hagel whether ransom payments are being considered for other captives.

Disclosure of the ransom payment undermines a key financial element of President Obama’s strategy to counter the Islamic State — pressuring foreign governments, corporations and families of captives not to pay ransom. In a speech in September, David S. Cohen, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the Islamic State made $20 million this year in ransoming hostages.

ISIS Terrorists Claims They Have Beheaded American Hostage Peter Kassig

ISIS BEHEADS AMERICAN HOSTAGE PETER KASSIG.

ISIS appears to have done it again. In a VIDEO, ISIS terrorists claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig. That now makes the 5th Westerner that ISIS has brutally murdered. The 26 year old Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as he converted to Islam, was an aid worker in Syria prior to his capture. Kassig was a U.S. soldier and returned to the Middle East  as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war. Kassig’s parents had previously asked for mercy for their some; however, as we all know … ISIS has no mercy.

Kassig was an Army veteran who served in the Iraq war before he was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2007.

Kassig later became an emergency medical technician and volunteered as a medical assistant in border hospitals in Lebanon in 2012, treating Palestinian refugees and those fleeing from the Syrian conflict.

In the fall of 2012, Kassig founded an NGO called SERA, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, eventually moving its base of operations to Turkey, according to a family spokesman. From there Kassig “sourced and delivered food and medical supplies to the growing [refugee] camps on both sides of the Syrian border.” He also gave primary trauma care to children caught in the crossfire.

CNN:

Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.
ISIS reportedly beheads Peter Kassig.

The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.

Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.

He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.

Kassig’s parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son’s death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.

UPDATE I: Western Leaders React To Peter Kassig Beheading Video Posted By Islamic State.

Leaders of Australia and the U.K., as well as a representative of the U.S. National Security Council, have publicly denounced the contents of a video that allegedly shows members of the Islamic State militant group in Syria beheading Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American aid worker who was born Peter Kassig. The militant group formerly known as either ISIL or ISIS purportedly posted the video online Sunday: It appears to show so-called Jihadi John, a militant responsible for previous hostage beheadings, holding Kassig’s head.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott denounced the footage at a press conference covered by the Guardian. Abbott would not comment on the video’s authenticity or whether he had seen any additional footage, saying only that the Islamic State group should be called a death cult.

British Prime Minister David Cameron posted on Twitter earlier Sunday, saying  he was horrified by what he called Kassig’s “cold-blooded murder”

ISIS Video Shows Beheading of British Aid Worker Alan Henning … Threatens American Aid worker Peter Kassig Is Next

ISIS BEHEADS 4TH WESTERNER …

In an act of barbarism and cowardice, ISIS has headed yet another westerner, this time British aid worker Alan Henning. The murdering terrorist who executed Henning blamed the death on the United Kingdom for joining the United States led bombing campaign against the terror group ISIS. Henning was abducted the day after Christmas in 2013 by masked gunmen. He was part of a team of volunteers that traveled to Syria to deliver food and water to people affected by Syria’s civil war.  At the end of the VIDEO, an ISIS terrorist is seen threatening a man identified as an American aid worker Peter Kassig.

“Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment of Sham (Syria), which keeps on striking our people, so it is only right that we continue to strike the necks of your people,” the masked militant in the video said.

VIDEO – CNN

CNN – ISIS video claims to show beheading of Alan Henning.

A short video released by ISIS on Friday shows the apparent beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning, with the executioner blaming the death on the United Kingdom for joining the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the group.

Before he is killed, Henning speaks to the camera, referencing the British Parliament’s decision to participate in coalition of more than 40 countries who have banded together to go after the so-called Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria.

At the end of the video, ISIS shows American aid worker Peter Kassig and threatens his life.

“The brutal murder of Alan Henning by ISIL shows just how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are,” UK Prime Minister David Cameron said, referring to the group also known as ISIS.

ISIS threatens to kill American aid worker Peter Kassig next:

Kassig, a 26-year-old American now threatened by the Islamic State group, enlisted in the Army in 2004, and became a Ranger, ultimately serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment, an Army special operations unit.

According to his military record, Kassig trained at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2006, and deployed to Iraq from April to July 2007. He was medically discharged at the rank of private first class in September 2007. His home of record at the time of his enlistment was Indianapolis, Indiana.

His parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, issued a statement asking for the world to pray for their son.

“The Kassig family extends our concern for the family of Alan Henning. We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration,” the statement said. “We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe.”

His family said Kassig had been working for the relief organization he found, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, or SERA, when he was captured on Oct. 1, 2013, on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria. He converted to Islam while in captivity and the family has heard from former hostages that his faith has provided him comfort.

Henning, 47, nicknamed “Gadget,” had joined an aid convoy and was taken captive on Dec. 26, shortly after crossing the border between Turkey and Syria. Earlier this week, Henning’s wife Barbara Henning asked the militants in a televised plea: “Please release him. We need him back home.”