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Sydney cafe siege probe begins

International Desk |
Update: 2014-12-16 02:29:00
Sydney cafe siege probe begins

DHAKA: An investigation has been launched into the police operation which ended a siege in a cafe in Sydney, Australia.

Two people died, along with the gunman, as police commandos stormed the cafe in Martin Place in the heart of Sydney early on Tuesday morning.

The victims have been named in the media as cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34 and Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38.

Tributes are being paid to them and flags are flying at half mast on all NSW government buildings, reports BBC.

Police are also investigating the motives of the attacker, named as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee who was a known extremist and criminal.

Tony Abbott: "The perpetrator...had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability''

Central Sydney was put in lockdown on Monday morning as the gunman entered the Lindt Chocolat Cafe and seized hostages. The siege ended as police stormed the cafe in the early hours of Tuesday.

The investigation - standard practice when police are involved in a fatal incident - is being led by New South Wales Homicide Squad detectives on behalf of the state's coroner, and could take weeks or months.

At a press conference on Tuesday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn would not say whether Monis shot the hostages himself. Nor would she confirm media reports that cafe manager Johnson was shot when he grappled with Monis, who was carrying a gun.

Asked if police stormed the cafe because of something they saw or heard from within the cafe, Commissioner Burn would say only that "shots were heard and an emergency action plan was activated".

BDST: 1328 HRS, DEC 16, 2014

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