Sydney Hostage Siege Unfolding

[Magda Hassan]

Some information on the gunman by the UK tabloid. Seems a nutter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...twork.html

Revealed: Gunman holding nine hostages in Sydney cafe is a self-styled Iranian sheik on bail for ex-wife's murder and compared dead war heroes to Nazis in letters to their families

• Man Haron Monis, 49, was known to police for some time before siege
  
• Was on bail for more than 40 sexual offences ahead of February trial
  
• Had posed as a spiritual healer in order to grope unsuspecting women
  
• Was previously accused of being an accessory to murder of his ex-wife
  
• Also given 300 hours community service for sending hate mail to the dead families of Australian soldiers killed fighting in Afghanistan
  

By John Hall for MailOnline
Published: 21:33 AEST, 15 December 2014 | Updated: 02:44 AEST, 16 December 2014


Police are investigating the Iranian links of the Sydney cafe siege gunman after it emerged he is a Tehran-born self-styled sheik named Man Haron Monis who has demanded officers bring him the black flag of the Islamic State.
Born Manteghi Bourjerdi, the 49-year-old extremist left Iran for Australia in 1996 and adopted various names before settling on Sheik Haron Monis. Already well-known to police, Monis is currently on bail until February next year for more than 40 sexual offences.
His accusers said posted a newspaper advert claiming to be an expert who specialised in astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic, but used his meetings with the women to sexually and indecently assault them, claiming his groping was key to his practice of 'spiritual healing'.
Monis has previously been investigated for sending vile hate letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed by insurgents in Afghanistan, and was last November accused of being an accessory to murder of his ex-wife after her body was found badly burned and suffering knife wounds.
Calling himself 'The Brother', Monis this morning held staff and customers hostage in a Sydney chocolate shop in what experts roundly believe to be a so-called 'lone wolf' attack.
While he was widely known as a practicing Shia Muslim, Monis is believed to have converted to Sunni Islam just last month when he posted a message on his now-suspended website rejecting Shiism and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State's terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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Gunman: Self-styled Iranian sheikh Man Haron Monis demanded police officers bring him an ISIS flag in a chilling phone call to a local radio station.


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Born Manteghi Bourjerdi, the extremist left Iran for Australia in 1996 and adopted various names before settling on Sheik Haron Monis


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Already well-known to police,Monis is currently on bail for more than 40 sexual offences relating to his work as a so-called spiritual healer

Man Haron Monis: The Sydney gunman holding people hostage





Monis first came to the attention of police after sending hate letters to the parents of Australian soldiers killed by Afghan insurgents, branding their children 'Nazis'.
In April he was arrested by Sydney's sex crimes squad detectives and charged with the 2002 indecent and sexual assault of a woman in the west of the city.
During a court appearance at Penrith in October he was charged with an additional 40 indecent and sexual assault charges, all of which relate to his time as a self-styled 'spritual healer' who apparently specialised in astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic.

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He was later bailed and scheduled to appear in court next February to answer the charges.
Following his arrest in April, the court as told that Monis was on bail after being charged last November with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of his ex-wife and mother-of-two Noleen Hayson Pal.
In September last year, shortly before his ex-wife's death, Monis was sentenced to 300 hours of community service after penning 'grossly offensive' letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers.He was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond for 12 counts of using a postal service to cause offence.

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Militant: The gunman (pictured) is said to be calling himself 'The Brother' but it's not yet known whether he is a so-called 'lone wolf' fanatic or if he is part of a wider terror network such as ISIS or Al Qaeda

After officers confirmed Monis as the man in the video, his lawyer described him as an isolated figure who he believes was probably acting alone.
'His ideology is just so strong and so powerful that it clouds his vision for common sense and objectiveness,' Manny Conditsis told ABC News.
Mr Conditsis represented Monis last year when he was charged with being accessory to the murder of ex-wife.
'Knowing he was on bail for very serious offences, knowing that while he was in custody some terrible things happened to him, I thought he may consider that he's got nothing to lose... Hence participating in something as desperate and outrageous as this,' Mr Conditsis added.
'This is a one-off random individual,' he said. 'It's not a concerted terrorism event or act...It's a damaged goods individual whose done something outrageous.'
Monis is understood to have been a practicing Shia Muslim, but in a message allegedly posted on his now suspended website last month, he claims to have become a Sunni and pledged allegiance to ISIS.
'I use to be a Rafidi [Shia Muslim] but now I pledge allegiance to Amir al-Mu'minin,' he said, using an alternative name for ISIS' terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The headband Monis was seen wearing is highly unusual within Sunni militant circles, and pointed to his past as a Shia Muslim.
Likewise the flag he displayed earlier in the day featured a perfectly innocent religious slogan - although groups such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra have incorporated elements of it into their own banners.

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Calling himself 'The Brother', Monis this morning held staff and customers hostage in a Sydney chocolate shop in what experts roundly believe to be a so-called 'lone wolf' attack

Self-styled sheik Man Haron Monis with other scholars





Experts believe the siege was very much the work of a 'lone wolf' and that even if Monis had declared his allegiance to ISIS, he is unlikely to have had the support of the terror group.
'Certainly this appears to be the actions of a lone actor, perhaps not very well prepared, perhaps not very well planned,' Anne Aly, head of the counter terrorism research programme at Australia's Curtin University', told the BBC.
'The indications of the demands that he's making seem very odd for a hostage taking incident where you would expect materialistic or strategic demands to be made in connection with a particular group or cause, she added.
Officers are believed to be in direct communication with Monis, with negotiators attempting to convince him give himself up while investigators probe his extremists links.
The siege comes after ISIS singled out Australia for lone wolf attacks - urging sympathisers not to work in groups or even discuss their plans with fellow jihadis, and ordering them instead to just use guns, knives and improvised explosive devices to randomly murder innocent civilians on their own.

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Black banner: Dozens of people are being held hostage by a terrorist who stormed into a central Sydney cafe with a gun and forced crying women to hold a black Islamic flag up to the window

The 'lone wolf': Sydney gunman caught on camera inside cafe





Upon learning that a number of hostages had escaped from the shop, Monis is understood to have flown into a rage, becoming extremely agitated and shouting at the remaining captives.
He earlier claimed to be carrying a bomb in a backpack and said he has planted two other devices elsewhere in the city, according to escapees. However police say they believe the multiple device claim to be false and say they are focussing their full attention on the Lindt cafe.
Monis is understood to have demanded two hostages contact Australia's Channel 10 News to issue the bomb threat, and also to deliver a list of demands he wants met - including the ISIS flag.
According to the captives, he has offered to release five hostages in the event officers meet his demands, but has threatened to kill them if they are ignored.
Just moments before the hostage situation at Martin Place began, police announced the arrest of two Sydney men as part of a major counter-terrorism investigation.
At least thirteen people are currently being held hostage by at least one armed gunman at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place - a major business, legal and media centre in Sydney's central business district.
The Australian Federal Police apprehended a 25-year-old terror suspect in Beecroft in Sydney's leafy north-western suburbs this morning, reportedly as he was leaving a prayer hall.
In a statement early this morning, the Federal Police said the suspect was taken into custody 'as part of continuing investigations into the planning of a terrorist attack on Australian soil'.
The investigation also concerned the 'facilitation of travel of Australian citizens to Syria to engage in armed combat'. Another man is understood to have already been in custody.

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Terrified customers and employees stand with their hands against the window at the Lindt cafe in Sydney

Sydney terror siege: 5 hostages free, city still on lockdown





Earlier a Sydney father told of his terrifying brush with Monis just moments before he entered a downtown cafe and took dozens of people hostage.
Craig Stoker, from Eastlakes in Sydney's south, said he bumped into the gunman on the street just outside the cafe after he bought a coffee from the café on Monday morning, News Limited reports.
Mr Stoker described Monis as wearing a black shirt with white writing and similar headband, carrying a blue bag and walking with two other similarly dressed men.
'The bag bumped into me and there was something hard in it. I said 'watch where you are f***ing going',' Mr Stoker said.
'He turned round and said 'do you want me to shoot you too'. I looked into his eyes and they were crazy.'
Later, witnesses reported seeing one or two men walk into the café and pull a weapon from a blue bag. Seconds later police were on the scene.
Running to safety: Two hostages flee Martin Place Lindt cafe











A distraught female worker, cafe barista Elly Chen, bolted from the shop before taking cover with police


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A young female employee came running out of the Lindt cafe and was sheltered by waiting police

Experts believe Monis is almost certainly operating as a so-called 'lone wolf' fanatic.
This would suggest he may have carried out the attack without the funding, organisation or direct instruction of a wider terrorist network.
In September a senior ISIS militant urged an Australia based terror network to carry out public beheadings - an act that lead to more than 800 police officers carrying out terror raids in Sydney.
15 people were detained, leading to two men being charged.
One man, Omarjan Azari, 22, appeared in Sydney central court on Thursday afternoon to face charges of preparing to commit a terrorist act.
He allegedly conspired to commit the act with another man, Mohammad Baryalei, a former bouncer of Afghan origin who is now said to be a commander in the Islamic State.


A male employee wearing an apron frantically ran out of a side fire exit and hid behind police

The call for a lone wolf attacks in Australia followed calls by ISIS' leadership for the group's sympathisers around the world to kill non-Muslims.
'Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may be. Turn their worldly life into fear and fire,' a spokesperson said.
'Do not ask for anyone's advice and do not seek anyone's verdict. Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers. Both of them are considered to be waging war,' the message added, urging terrorists to keep their plans secret.
Within weeks of the demands being issued, an Oklahoma Muslim convert named Alton Nolen allegedly beheaded co-worker Colleen Hufford at the care home where they worked, before going on to stab another woman. He is understood to have been radicalised by ISIS propaganda videos.
The following month a 32 year-old Canadian Muslim convert called Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo - a soldier on ceremonial duty at the Canadian National War Memorial.
He then ran in to the nearby Centre Block parliament building at Parliament Hill, where he was shot dead by the before he was able to injure anybody else. Zehaf-Bibeau is also believed to have been inspired by ISIS' call for lone wolf attacks around the world.

SYDNEY SIEGE TIMELINE

9.30pm - Gunman wearing headband covered in Arabic writing storms Lindt cafe
10.09am - First images released showing hostages inside cafe with hands in air in surrender
10.15am - Two female hostages hold black Islamic flag containing Arabic writing against cafe window
11.43am - Man claiming to be hostage-taker calls Sydney radio station 2GB saying there are other explosive devices planted around city
Channel Nine Australia also said it had been contacted by three hostages, including one who had been 'forced by the gunman' to call its office
Meanwhile, Ten News report they received a video in which a hostage 'relays the gunman's demands'
11.49am - Reports from scene say police tactical assault team has entered building with gas masks and shotguns
3.37pm - Three male hostages escape cafe - one through a fire exit on Phillips Street and two others from the front door - before running to safety behind armed police
3.50pm - NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn confirms negotiators have spoken with gunman
5.00pm - Two female Lindt workers, including barista Elly Chen, run out of fire exit at back of cafe in Martin Place into arms of anti-terror police at the entrance of adjacent hotel in Elizabeth Street
7pm - Journalist Chris Reason, who has a direct line of sight into the cafe from the Seven Network newsroom directly opposite, says the gunman flew into a rage when he realised some of his captives had escaped
8pm Food and water seen being delivered to the hostages from the cafe's back kitchens
The lights in the cafe go out as a siege remains unresolved in its tenth hour