The Sydney café siege ended in a hail of explosions and gunfire Tuesday morning, with heavily-armed police tossing stun grenades and firing assault weapons into the building.
Details remain scarce, but shortly after 2 a.m. six hostages reportedly ran from a side door of the Lindt Chocolat Café, where self-styled Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis had taken as many as thirty hostages at gunpoint the previous morning.
Police stormed the café from the other side mere minutes after the hostages’ escape, leading some observers to speculate that Monis had begun executing the remaining captives. Multiple explosions rent the early morning air, followed by automatic weapons fire. Ambulances swarmed the scene shortly after, with unconfirmed reports suggesting some hostages were killed and others injured.
One individual was seen being dragged from the café shortly after the siege’s conclusion, with medical personnel providing attempts to resuscitate. Others were later dragged out on stretchers, with technicians performing CPR on the grievously wounded.
Sydney police remain tight-lipped so far about final casualties and the fate of the gunman.
NRO has a slideshow of the events here.
UPDATE: Sydney police confirm that two hostages were killed by Monis before police stormed the café. A total of 17 hostages were held throughout the duration of the siege, though many escaped before the police assault began.
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