Lindt Cafe Hostages

The inquest was told that police had hoped to "contain and negotiate" with Monis, who was armed with the gun and thought to have a bomb in his backpack. It was later discovered to be fake.

An Australian cafe where a gunman inspired by the Islamic State group took customers and staff hostage in a deadly siege will reopen on Friday, a spokesman said.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott foreshadowed tighter immigration controls today when he released the first report into a siege last December in Sydney's Lindt cafe, in which two hostages and the gunman were killed.

An inquest into the deadly siege in which an extremist gunman held a cafe full of people captive in Sydney opens on Thursday, amid expectation it will officially lift the lid on how two hostages died.

One hostage the Sydney siege gunman failed to take this week was social media.

The siege at the Sydney cafe had been going on for more than five hours and 82-year-old John O'Brien had become convinced the gunman was insane and they would likely all end up dead.

The hostages in Sydney pleaded for help - for those among them who were pregnant, sick and elderly and for those who were young and deserved a shot at a decent life.

The Sydney hostages pleaded for help - for those among them who were pregnant, sick and elderly

Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early today morning and freed terrified hostages held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which two captives and the attacker were killed.

Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee described by those who knew him as a loner, was killed early on Tuesday after heavily armed police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe to end a 16-hour hostage drama that made global headlines.

Tearful Sydney office workers and Muslim women in hijabs laid flowers on Tuesday at the scene of a deadly siege, as an outpouring of grief and shock gripped the usually easy-going harbour city.

There was not one but two Infosys employees inside Lindt cafe in Sydney when an armed man laid siege to it, holding 17 people hostage.

Two hostages and an extremist Iranian-born gunman were killed today in a 16-hour siege that ended when police stormed a cafe in central Sydney.

Two hostages who have been killed in the 17-hour-long hostage drama at a cafeteria in Sydney were identified as the manager of the Lindt Chocolate cafe and a lawyer.

The Sydney siege was over in the early hours of Tuesday - with Australian police storming the downtown cafe where a gunman had been holding nearly 30 people hostage for 16 hours. The gunman, Man Haron Monis, died. Two hostages were also killed. Two Indians, who were among the hostages, are safe.

The inquest was told that police had hoped to "contain and negotiate" with Monis, who was armed with the gun and thought to have a bomb in his backpack. It was later discovered to be fake.

An Australian cafe where a gunman inspired by the Islamic State group took customers and staff hostage in a deadly siege will reopen on Friday, a spokesman said.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott foreshadowed tighter immigration controls today when he released the first report into a siege last December in Sydney's Lindt cafe, in which two hostages and the gunman were killed.

An inquest into the deadly siege in which an extremist gunman held a cafe full of people captive in Sydney opens on Thursday, amid expectation it will officially lift the lid on how two hostages died.

One hostage the Sydney siege gunman failed to take this week was social media.

The siege at the Sydney cafe had been going on for more than five hours and 82-year-old John O'Brien had become convinced the gunman was insane and they would likely all end up dead.

The hostages in Sydney pleaded for help - for those among them who were pregnant, sick and elderly and for those who were young and deserved a shot at a decent life.

The Sydney hostages pleaded for help - for those among them who were pregnant, sick and elderly

Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early today morning and freed terrified hostages held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which two captives and the attacker were killed.

Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee described by those who knew him as a loner, was killed early on Tuesday after heavily armed police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe to end a 16-hour hostage drama that made global headlines.

Tearful Sydney office workers and Muslim women in hijabs laid flowers on Tuesday at the scene of a deadly siege, as an outpouring of grief and shock gripped the usually easy-going harbour city.

There was not one but two Infosys employees inside Lindt cafe in Sydney when an armed man laid siege to it, holding 17 people hostage.

Two hostages and an extremist Iranian-born gunman were killed today in a 16-hour siege that ended when police stormed a cafe in central Sydney.

Two hostages who have been killed in the 17-hour-long hostage drama at a cafeteria in Sydney were identified as the manager of the Lindt Chocolate cafe and a lawyer.

The Sydney siege was over in the early hours of Tuesday - with Australian police storming the downtown cafe where a gunman had been holding nearly 30 people hostage for 16 hours. The gunman, Man Haron Monis, died. Two hostages were also killed. Two Indians, who were among the hostages, are safe.