Sydney Hostage Taker

Australia's prime minister says the gunman who took hostages in a Sydney cafe was "a deeply disturbed individual' known to the police but he was not on a terror watch list.

Australian security forces on Tuesday stormed the Sydney cafe where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in what looked like the dramatic denouement to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.

An Iranian refugee charged with sexual assault and known for sending hate letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas is the armed man holding an unknown number of hostages in a Sydney cafe, a police source said on Tuesday.

Australia's prime minister says the gunman who took hostages in a Sydney cafe was "a deeply disturbed individual' known to the police but he was not on a terror watch list.

Australian security forces on Tuesday stormed the Sydney cafe where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in what looked like the dramatic denouement to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.

An Iranian refugee charged with sexual assault and known for sending hate letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas is the armed man holding an unknown number of hostages in a Sydney cafe, a police source said on Tuesday.