SYDNEY - An armed assailant was holding an unknown number of hostages in a central Sydney cafe on Dec. 15, shutting down Australia's largest city and raising fears it could be an attack by Islamist militant sympathisers.
Reuters: Hostages held in Sydney cafe, forced to hold Islamic flag in window (VIDEO)
This screengrab taken from Australian Channel Seven shows the suspected gunman inside a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on December 15, 2014. A gunman was holding terrified hostages inside a Sydney cafe December 15 with an Islamic flag displayed at the window, triggering a lockdown in an area home to government and corporate headquarters.
