Five hostages have fled Sydney's Lindt cafe where a gunman has been holding "fewer than 30" people captive since morning.
The siege is currently being dubbed as a terrorist attack but the motivation of the gunman has not been ascertained yet, reported The Daily Telegraph. Some hostages inside the cafe were apparently forced to stand at the cafe's windows holding up a flag that bore the Islamic creed.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said that hundreds of police officers have surrounded the area to ensure that the incident ends peacefully.
Terming the situation "a very disturbing incident," Prime Minister Tony Abbott urged countrymen to not be swayed by it and "go about their day as normal.
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