Chris Reason at Channel 7 Newspublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
tweets, external: By our calculations, there were 21 hostages. Five escaped this afternoon, then 7 more at 2am. So approx 9 were inside when police went in
Summary
Australian police have stormed a cafe in Sydney after a prolonged siege in which a gunman took a number of people hostage
Shots have been heard and several hostages have been seen running from the Lindt cafe. Police now say the siege is over
The gunman has been named as Man Haron Monis - a self-proclaimed cleric from Iran
People inside the cafe were earlier forced to hold a black flag with Arabic writing at the window. All times GMT
Chris Reason at Channel 7 Newspublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Postpublished at 16:27 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
"This is a one-off random individual. It's not a concerted terrorism event or act. It's a damaged goods individual who's done something outrageous,'' Man Haron Monis' former lawyer, Manny Conditsis, tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Postpublished at 16:25 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Man Haron Monis was born in Iran and sought political asylum in Australia in 1996. Here's a BBC profile of the self-styled Muslim cleric.
Postpublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Frank Gardner
BBC security correspondenttweets, external: Assault team that ended the 16hr #SydneySiege are commandos from Tactical Assault Group
Postpublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
The number of injuries among the hostages and the fate of the gunman are still not clear. We do know that several people were carried out from the scene on the stretchers.
Postpublished at 16:03 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
To recap: The Sydney cafe siege is over after armed police stormed the building amid the sound of gunfire. The police are believed to have launched their operation after at least five more hostages escaped from the cafe - more than 16 hours after the stand-off began. Armed police and medics are at the scene and several people have been taken away on stretchers.
Postpublished at 15:52 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Nine News Australia's Airlie Walsh tweets, external: Family members are gathered on the steps of St James Court, waiting to be reunited with loved ones. Ambulance sirens wailing. #SydneySiege
Postpublished at 15:49 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Image source, APImage caption, A injured hostage is taken to an ambulance after shots were fired during the cafe siege at Martin Place
Breaking Newspublished at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
New South Wales Police tweets, external: Sydney siege is over. More details to follow.
Postpublished at 15:44 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
A person on the ground appeared to have been treated by medics.
Image source, APPostpublished at 15:41 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Terrified hostages were later seen running out from the cafe.
Image source, APPostpublished at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
The Guardian's Helen Davidson, external in Martin Place says a bomb disposal robot is now going into the building.
Breaking Newspublished at 15:23 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Police have stormed the cafe where the gunman has been holding a number of people hostage, AP and Reuters news agencies say.
Postpublished at 15:23 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Emergency services brought in at least two stretchers to the scene. Earlier, medics appeared to be providing first aid to an injured person.
Postpublished at 15:21 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Shots appear to have been fired outside the cafe, Reuters images show.
Postpublished at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Live footage showed police carrying out a crying woman - believed to be one of the hostages.
Postpublished at 15:15 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Reports also say a loud bang was heard in the area.
Breaking Newspublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
At least five more hostages escape from the cafe, media reports say.
Postpublished at 15:03 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets:, external The incident in Sydney is disturbing. Such acts are inhuman & deeply unfortunate. I pray for everyone's safety.
Postpublished at 14:53 Greenwich Mean Time 15 December 2014
Britain's Terry Waite - who was held hostage in Lebanon for four years - tells the BBC the best thing the hostages can do is keep their heads down, and not try to curry favour with the gunman. "As far as you can be cool, calm, controlled; answer the questions to the best of your ability, and just don't betray any sense of panic, because that sometimes can excite and cause hostage takers to behave excitedly themselves."