Sydney kidnapper 'demanded IS flag for hostage's life'

The hostage-taker at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney, Australia, demanded that police find him a flag of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in exchange for the release of the hostages.

Image of gunman holding hostages on surveillance camera. Photo: 7News

“The man inside the cafe said if the police would get him an ISIS flag, he would release some hostages,” SMH quoted a senior leader in Sydney’s Muslim community as saying. ISIS is another acronym for IS.

"A contact I know at Counter Terrorism Service has called me four or five times today, asking if I could quickly find them an ISIS flag. I've sent a team of people to try to find one," he added.

Residents and reporters gathered at Martin Place waiting for news of the kidnapping. Photo: 9 News

The source also said that the hostage taker's demands showed that he wanted to become a member of IS.

Possession of the IS flag is illegal in Australia.

List of 70 people banned from leaving Australia

Meanwhile, the Telegraph quoted Jamal Daoud, a Muslim leader in Sydney, as saying that the gunman who carried out the kidnapping was on a list of 70 people prevented from leaving Australia to join the fight in Syria.

This morning, an armed man stormed into the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia, took control and hostages there.

Female hostages forced to hang flags similar to those of IS

The hostages were later seen standing by the window holding a black flag with white writing in Arabic, but it was not the flag of the Islamic State (IS). It is not clear whether the group’s militants were involved in the hostage-taking.

The Australian Islamic Foundation has issued a statement condemning the kidnapping, expressing “support and solidarity with the victims and their families”, calling for a “peaceful” resolution to the incident and asserting that acts such as the ongoing kidnapping “are condemned throughout the Muslim world”.

The area around the scene of the incident remains cordoned off. Five hostages have been freed so far.

Kidnapper holding hostage. Photo: Steven Siewert

7 News reporter Chris Reason, reporting from his office across the street from the scene, said that when the five hostages were freed, the gunman became agitated, shouting at the remaining hostages.

Some breathtaking images of the scene of the hostage taking in Sydney

Hostage-faced men ran from their captors at the Lindt cafe in central Sydney in a dramatic siege that captured the world's attention.

Two hostages (in blue and white shirts) run out of the cafe. Photo: The New Daily

Video clip: The first three hostages escape from the Lindt cafe, Sydney

.

Two of the three hostages run out of the cafe. Photo: The New Daily

The two latest hostages to escape from the Lindt pub are believed to be employees of the pub. Photo: AFP

Video clip: Two female hostages escape from kidnapper

.

According to VnExpress