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Police in Sydney have stormed the cafe where a gunman was holding dozens of people hostage, bringing the 16-hour siege to an end.
"We can see some heavily armed policemen and flashes of gunfire," ABC Australia reported.
Multiple outlets are reporting at least two people are dead, including the suspected gunman.
Heavily armed police stormed the building at around 2 a.m. local time. A group of hostages ran out of the building after the police moved in. Several people were taken away from the area on stretchers. Police later sent in a bomb disposal robot to sweep the area.
Five hostages fled the Lindt Cafe earlier in the day, though it's not clear if they were released or managed to escape.
Earlier in the day, an official with direct knowledge of the situation identified the gunman as Man Haron Monis. Monis, an Iranian refugee, is accused of several violent offenses, including organizing the murder of his ex-wife. (Video via 9News)
It's not clear if Monis is affiliated with a larger terror group, though he appeared to be the only hostage-taker in the building, leading one CNN analyst to believe he was working on his own. (Video via BBC)
"The fact that, for example, one of his requests was actually an ISIS flag, that he didn't have one of his own suggests he wasn't operating under anyone's order but seems to have done this on his own initiative."
Stay with Newsy for more on this developing story.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
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