lockerbie part one: the pan am bomber >> this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello there welcome to the news hour, i'm judy gauche, live in doha. our top stories this hour. a 16 hour siege at an australian cafe, ends, at least two people have reportedly been killed. hostage taker as a man known to police. major disruptions in belgium as

labor unions hold a nationwide strike to protest the deposit's austerity policy. it's been called the biggest attack of its kind in two years. afternoon assault by rebels in syria kills dozens of government soldiers. a 16-hour hostage crisis in australia's largest city is over. heavily armed police stormed a cafe in sydney, releasing several hostages in the process. local media reporting the hostage taker himself has been killed. now 4:00 in the morning in sydney. live pictures coming to us from that city. kim vanel has more for us on the day's event. >> hostages take a moment and run for their lives. moments layered, police storm the central sydney cafe.

one officer appears to throw a stun grenade. either gun fire or flash explosions. paramedics were already there and quickly ran towards the building. one woman could be seen being carried out. the siege began during monday morning rush hour. >> that woman was summoning police, she had the phone to her ear. three police on motorcycles and others on foot very quickly. she said she was going to go inside the cafe and the automatic glass sliding doors that let you into the cafe were shut. she thought it was closed and she saw a plan inside with a blue bag and what she thought was a shotgun. >> on it is a common islamic creed, reads there is only one god and mohamed is his messenger. police believe the hostage taker

to be this man. known to authorities as writing letters to victims of. >> this pen is my gun and my bullets. >> sexual assault and murder of his ex wife. authorities describe monis as plit cli motivated. >> innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person, claiming political motivation. >> bomb dismoasal units moved in to -- disposal units poofd in to check the cafe. 16 hour siege drew to a close. images of terror on their door steps. kim vanel, al jazeera .

>> andrew thomas is on the ground for us. what are you hearing from the aftermath of that hostage taking situation? >> reporter: you're right we're expecting a press conference within the next few minutes. what we hope to hear in that press conference is why police felt the need to storm this siege situation when they did. they had said throughout monday that they wanted to bring this siege to a peaceful resolution. well, obviously that didn't happen. the cafe in the middle of martin place in the sister of sydney was stormed just after 2:00 a.m. sydney time, 2:00 a.m. in the morning on tuesday. what's not clear is why they felt the need to do that. now there are reports swirling around the local media here in australia. that two people have been killed in this siege. one is reported to have been the gunman, the man that you

correctly named as man haron monis. the other is believed to be a hostage inside that cafe. channel 7 one of the main commercial networks here in australia, its offices are right opposite this cafe. although most of the journalists were evacuated by the police along with all the other office worsers in the vicinity of the siege, one journalist was allowed to go back into the channel 7 newsroom later on monday and he was able to get a good shot, both with his eyes and with a camera i believe of the siege situation. and he has sent out messages that suggest that the hostage taker had shot possibly killed one of the hostages inside that cafe and that is why the police felt the need to storm that cafe. now i should stress this is one report from one journalist. albeit he had a good view of

what went on. we'll be looking at the press conference that's due to start in a few minutes, whether that's correct, whether that's the reason they felt the need to move in when they did. >> that police press conference we're told has actually been delayed for a couple of hours. there will be tough questions asked of the police not least why this man was freed, given that he had a number of charges against him related to violence. >> reporter: he did. he has been convictof writing some very unpleasant letters to the families of australian soldiers who had been killed in afghanistan. he has appealed his conviction a number of times and the latest appeal failed just last friday, just three days ago. whether or not that was the straw that broke the camel's back, whether that was a trigger for what happened is unknown at the moment.

that would be pure speculation. that's what he's been convicted of. he's also been charged with more serious charges, with accessory to the murder of his ex wife and sexual assault charges that date back more than a decade. he was out on bail, not free, but out on bail, awaiting trial. serious questions will be asked why he was out on bail and how he could get into a central sydney cafe, armed in some way, we don't know how he was armed but how he was able to get into that situation and take as many hospital stadges as hhostages ak of the monday morning rush hour. -- hostages he did in the peak of the monday morning rush hour. we're not far off a full day ago. we're almost coming towards dawn now in sydney on tuesday. it won't be far off where this all began 24 hours ago. >> andrew thank you for that.

andrew thomas updating from sydney. mcquarry university joins me from new york. good to have you with us malcolm. getting a lot of information about the suspected hostage taker, an iranian immigrant with a long criminal history. what do you make of him? >> well it's a very confusing situation and it's forfeit thate that the hostage-siege is over. as far as his background we'll have to wait for more information. we understand at some point during this siege he had requested an i.s.i.l. or dash flag to be brought to him in exchange to a hostage. he is also an iranian immigrant and we don't know whether he's sunni or shia.

he's an emotionally disturbed person in relation to all these charges and he just used this as a vehicle to popularize his grievance before he was killed. >> when it comes to taking hostages in a very public situation as happened here what do people like this hope to gain from that? >> well, usually, in hostage situations, and one of the things that i did in the u.s. military is, i was a specialty in terrorist hostage survival. there are generally three types of hostage situations, a fleeing criminal who take a hostage spontaneously, a hostage barricade and then suicide hostage situation where the person has no intention of surviving the hostage taking. today we don't know whether or not he has killed the hostage but the hostage takers will

initiate a situation, where they see the hostage taker has gone ahead and started harming hostages. >> what did you make of the police operation because it started out very softly softly, the police being prepared to wait it out for the long haul and then it ended very dramatically, very noisily because of speculation that the hostages' lives were in danger. >> yes, it's a dynamic situation. i've trained as a swat officer and let me tell you that fortunately for the australians they kept it at a law enforcement level. you have either the australian equivalent of the fbi or you have a national security problem and that's where you bring out elements of the special services

regiment. fortunately, the australians went about it the right way. it was totally on the hostage taker how this would end. we don't know why they initiated the assault but the way i saw it they breached the windows and immediately there was a fuselage of gun fire before the flash-bangs were thrown. that was in order to eliminate the threat, which was the hostage takers and then they started to suppress the flash bangs so the assault team could sweep in. that was textbook and i don't think anyone's going to fault them on that. you can only fault hostage taker for initiating this crisis. >> thank you for speaking with us. malcolm nun speaking to us live from new york. targeting the network suspected of sending fighters to

syria. near the southern city of tuluz. coordinating the network from prison. joining me now is founder of risk consultancy firm antiterrorist. broken up this network send sending fighters abroad. what do you make of this police situation? >> well, this operation is not related to any specific intelligence threat. in fact it's the result of judiciary procedure. the court has launched an investigation and that lasted a few months and the results of that procedure. so it's not specific again to a threat coming from intelligence information or alarm or anything. >> but it ties into this fear amongst european officials that

locals are going away to fight and then they might come back and start launching attacks at home. >> i agree. it's -- the first fear in france and europe, because we have many young fighters or people joining those groups. it's among -- in the estimation is about 1,000 so the first fear effectively is that those people can come back from those fronts and try to make any operation. so that create again of let's see alarmism or threat context that push authorities to make some kind of operation like that. to prevent any kind of preparation, attacks or so on.

so that shows a lot about the way of political people and also media, for choosing that threat, and the risk is to create a kind of let's say a counterproductive effect underground that can on the contrary push some young people to identify to that organization, and maybe to be pushed also to make an operation in france, or to join again on the front specifically to make an operation in france, instead of joining the organization in iraq or in syria. >> i'll tell you what interested me. according to lemond newspaper, about a quarter of those who left to join the struggle abroad are converts to islam, most of them come from ordinary french

backgrounds. what is motivating these people? >> first of all, the french background doesn't mean that the people are not muslim. we have a huge number of muslim, we have a big community, muslim community in france so that doesn't mean anything. because muslims are french, a part of them. it's not the point. the other point is effectively, that we have most of the people have been converted, but is it reborn people that were muslim originally? and again, become more, i mean, more closer to the islam and the practices of islam and so on. we also have some people that have not at all any islamic origins, this kind of islam, this kind of picture of islam

considered by those people like being a picture of bad guys or i mean, the fighting against a real ideology. so it's kind of new project, life project. that's the reason why i mean, they don't identified any more, our values, our system, much more with that other system. >> okay anne, thank you very much indeed, good to speak to you speaking live from paris. further on this issue, a major conference is on the way in morocco. the global counterterrorism forum brings together delegates from 18 member countries. father abde abdel hamed. >> there are certain issues that

need to be tackled on a national level and those are the reasons why young men or women choose to go to the front line. is it a way of expressing anger or frustration? is there a deep malaise within their communities and how to have them reintegrated. there is a recommendation that governments should reach out more to local communities. there's also the issue of the networks that recruit them, the information that as well as on social media and how to tackle that without it turning into a witch hunt and then there's the issue about what to do once they return home. how to persistent point those who are returning home to carry out an attack and those who are returning home simply because they were disillusions with the experience they had in the battlefield. the technicians here will come up with a set of recommendations, but they say that after that, it's up to the politicians to take them on, or

not, however they do warn that this trend of foreign fighters going to syria is still very strong. and at the moment there is no sign of abating it and it's really up to the international community to start tackling whatever they can on an international level even though each country has its own concerns about national security and has its own policies. and some of them are not reconcilable with all of the practices or the recommendations that they will bring on and put on the table. >> still to come here on this newshour, belgium is at a standstill as labor reforms. one year on, a country still recovering from a civil war that killed thousands. champions league seen foes meeting again, raul will have details later on in the program.

>> rebels in syria say they've killed around 50 soldiers in an attack o in i.d. idlib. zen ah khodr reports. >> this is not the first time the opposition has tried to push out military forces. the outer reaches of idlib province was well coordinated. hundreds took part in the situation. it is a strategic win because the syrian military has been forced to retreat, from its largest bases in this region. they rely on a highway that links the north to the south. >> translator: it's important because it lies on a main

junction. presence in the north and the note is important since it was here. >> reporter: this is a major military setback for the government which has lost control over much of idlib but much of a setback for the so-called moderate rebels, the group has been consolidating is its hold on idlib after pushing back western backed rebels from this province. fighters also took their weapons and according to the syrian observatory for human rights, more battlefield successes. >> translator: our message to every syrian soldier protecting assad your destiny will end up like the destiny today. the regime never tried save them so they died at the mujahideen.

>> the rebilitie rebels are cel, but it is al nusra, the dominant force in that corner of syria. zeina khodr, are beirut. >> benjamin netanyahu first met the stanley prime minister before sit down with john kerry. palestinian draft evidence resolution which was circulated by jordan to the u.n. security council last month calling for israeli occupation of palestinian lands to end by november 2016. ahead of that meetings with the u.s. secretary of state, the prime minister said he won't accept any timetable, that palestinians want for a state. >> translator: in recent years time after time we've repulsed efforts to dictate conditions that have damaged the security of israel and that do not comply

with real peace. also, this time we will not accept attempts for unilateral moves to be dictated to us within a given time line. in the reality in which islamic terrorism is reaching out to all parts of the world, we will rebuff any attempt to put this inside our home inside the states of israel. i will make this unequifly clear, we will stand in the face of any dictate. >> the special coordinate for middle east process, robert serra, said, while it's necessary for negotiations to take place about the time frame, what's also important is to continue pushing for a genuine peace process. >> i understand consultation he are also ongoing to present a resolution outlining parameters of a final status agreement. while important, we must recognize that these actions are not a substitute for genuine piece process that will need to

be negotiated between both parties. such a move by the council would constitute a major step on this conflict since the adoption of security council resolution 242 almost a year ago. >> james bays has more from the united nations. >> reporter: once again the palestinians are saying they are taking their draft proposal for a security council resolution setting an end date for israeli occupation to the security council. in fact in the last few hours the palestinian ambassador arriving at the u.n. told us that yes definitely they were going to propose their resolution, they were going to put it before the security council on wednesday. the problem of that of course is spln not a member o palestine ir of the security council. they would need a member of the security council to do it on

their behalf. you would expect that to be the jordannians. however, memos afte after the palestinian ambassador talked, i spoke to the jordanian ambassador. perhaps one reason for this uncertainty as well as what's going on in new york there are much higher negotiations taking place in europe. john kerry meeting often with benjamin netanyahu and meeting with european counterparts and then the palestinian chief negotiator. this is playing out in new york but also playing out at a higher diplomatic level in european capitals. >> a strike in belgium has brought most of the nation to a standstill. cancellation of all flights and rail services. workers are angry about government policies to cut public services and raise the

pension age. jackie roland joins me from brussels. it's been a quiet day hasn't it? the protesters have achieved what they set out to achieve. >> it has indeed although you may be able to hear sirens in the background which show you the emergency services are still working today. but by and large the public sector has ground to a halt, which means train stations like brussels central station that you can see behind me has had it's doors shut all day. international trains the service to paris have all been halted as well and the airport also 600 flights had to be cancelled today and thousands of passengers were not able to make their journey. so the unions feel that they did do as they set out to do, namely to bring brussels other parts of the country to a standstill. but the question really is where do we go from here?

because their objective is to somehow try to change the government's plan, change its austerity program but it's difficult to see what kind of action they could plan next after this general strike. >> so where do they go from here jackie? what do they do next? the government's not going to be giving up its austerity program. >> reporter: i was rhetorically asking smie myselft question. the government needs to make savings of $13.5 billion. it is a picture we see right across the euro zone, spending beyond their means where there is a debt larger than the kind of economic output that the country is generating. brussels the european union has said the people need to tighten their belts, they need to bring their spending under control. so if you've got abudget problem

you have two possibilities. you can either reduce your public spending or raise taxes to bring more money in. the government is make ordinary people bear the burden by cutting public spending. they want to see new tamps introduced on financial transactions, capital gains tax things like that. it's really dependent on whether the government is open to negotiation with the unions or whether they are going to just push ahead with the austerity program and face up to the consequence, whether that's going to mean more protests or more strikes which of course themselves disrupt the economy. >> jackie, thanks very much indeed for that. jackie roland in brussels there. you're with the al jazeera news hour. still to come, democratic protests in haiti. and an iconic sculpture garden

in india, as its creator celebrates his 90th birthday. kobe bryant moves past the all time scoring goal. raul will have the story after the break.

>> beyond the verdict and on the streets >> there's been another teenager shot and killed by the police >> a fault lines special investigation >> there's a general distrust of this prosecutor >> courageous and in depth... >> it's a target you can't get rid of... >> the untold story... >> who do you protect? >> ...of what's really going on in ferguson >> they were so angry because it could have been them >> fault lines, ferguson: race and justice in the u.s. one hour special only on al jazeera america

from judge welcome back i'm judy gauche.. a 16 hour siege in an australian cafe has ended. local media reporting that the hostage taker and a hostage have died. australian media also naming the hostage taker as man harim monis. convicted of sending hate mail to families of middle eastern soldiers. raise the pension age. some more on our top story that

siege in sydney. andrew proser takes a look at the man at the center of the 16 hour crisis. >> i write to you to offer my condolences for loss of a member of your family about. >> self plaiment proclaimed clen haron moni srveg. monis. between 2007 and 2009, monis sent leforts like it to several families. they outraged the australian public. monis was charged and convicted. here he stands outside another court wearing chains claiming to be tortured in prison. the 50-year-old is no stranger to the police or courts. he was born in iran and came to australia as a refugee.

at the time of the siege he was facing charges to being accessory to the murder of his ex wife. there are charges of indecent and sexual assault from his time as a self proclaimed spiritual healer. 300 hours of community service and put on a two-year good behavior bond. monis always claimed the letters were purely political, to oppose australian involvement in the afghan war, he took the case to the australian high court but he was denied three days before the siege began. >> in pennsylvania a man suspected of killing five people has barricaded himself. inside a house where two people were killed. also suspect ed of killing two other people at different locations.

protests in haiti, despite lauren lemont's resignation. during his resignation speech he said he was leaving with a sense of employment. >> if my resignation is a solution to the current political crisis, i decided tonight based on 165 of the constitution to give the president my letter of resignation as head of the government. >> shia britainzi is live. what else did he say? >> he had the sense of accomplishment and he hopes that the political crisis would be unblocked. i would say there hasn't been much sign of that yet here. you have to remember the

resignation, from the president's own commission on how to unlock the political crisis here. other steps that were recommended included sacking of the head of the supreme court, the sacking of members of the provisional electoral council who were seen to close to martelli and release of political prisoners. none of that have happened. we understand president martelli is trying to cobble together some type of caretaker government but at the moment this crisis is still very much underway. >> people want elections and they want the president to step down. are either of those things likely to happen any time soon? >> well, i mean it depends on who you speak to. when we speak to some people, they say martelli is coming under pressure.

as far as those on the streets are concerned they're not going to let up in their protests until martelli steps down. there is a sense that martelli who has engineered this crisis. he is quite happy for parliament to dissolve, then can he rule by decree. he is buoyed by un, u.s. support and martelli says he can do whatever he wants but no he cannot. they said the resignation of the prime minister is a good first step but now he must go on trial for corruption. >> okay shia, thanks for that. shia britainzi. in port-au-prince there. >> supporters of the opposition pakistan party are staging sit-ins in 18 different

location. the party by former cricketer imran khan. >> pakistan's second largest city is at a virtual standstill. imrawn khaimrawnimron khan, is s demand is for the setting up of a judicial commission to probe into allegations of massive rigging. he wanted the prime minister to resign earlier but said that he is willing to call off his nationwide protest of shutting down the country on the 18th, if the government agrees to the formation of a judicial commission. however, the government it seems has also shown its determination not to buckle under demands of the pti. one thing is quite clear, imran

has considerable support in the city of la-hor, his workers are out in great numbers and choke point in order to make sure that the strike and the protest is successful. >> china says it won't comply with a deadline to attend an international court hearing at the hague. an international court of permanent jurisdiction, is examining the condition of the sea. its neighbors are making competing claims. adrian brown has more. >> some of these contested islands, expected to be rich in oil and gas deposits, recent flight photographs demonstrate how the chinese government has been enforcing its claim. an influential defense magazine that obtained these images says

the reclamation work points to a construction of a runway. alarmed by the buildup, philippines government is now challenging the actions at the u.n. court of permanent jurisdiction in the hague. a stunt says china. >> this is just a diplomatic move to try get some sympathy from international community. so china will definitely not accept any arbitration from the international court. >> reporter: i asked china's foreign ministry spokesman how this can be resolved. >> china has a strong resolve to protect the sovereignty of the sea. china will have to respond accordingly. >> china's claim to 80% of the south china sea is incontestable. . saying these waters have always

belonged to china. but in this dispute, beijing is on its own. the dispute also includes vietnam, also taking legal action against beijing. china says it's ready to hold talks with each government but not if they want to internationalize the row. >> hundreds are sheltering in makeshift camps after a rainstorm caused land slides. 51 people claimed dead, dozens are mitting. now south sudan's civil war is entering a second war. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon. millions more displaced. humanitarian agencies say half the country is now reliant on aid. it all began back in

december of last year when president salva kiir accused riek. riek. rival tribes and killed them. the second peace fire deal was signed in may. that didn't last either. in july the u.n. called the food crisis in south sudan the worst in the world. the third ceasefire deal was signed last month again it was broken. katherine soy sent us this support from south sudan's upper nile state. >> malakal is slowly coming back to life. changed hands several times, each after intense battles. the town has been quiet for

months now. but many people are still afra afraid. john has family and friends, lost are they're friends earlier this year, going back is not an option now. >> translator: i blame the government and the nuer people, the crisis started in juba and now it's come down to us. why i do not know. >> but a few like this man have come back. he had to start his life no matter the risk. hundreds of miles from here in ethiopia the leaders have been holding people, the stock started in january but there has been no political standing yet. >> the negotiating teams have agreed on the formation of a transitional gof, other details need to be worked out including

the powers of the prime minister and how and when the two armies will be reintegrated. >> i think the government is very flexible from day 1, sitting with somebody who is making a coup is great exroams ocompromise on the part of the government. >> many analysts including this man believe this is a power are struggle that will not yield much in the long run. >> in the government and in the opposition, i think we will not have pea peace i peace if the on for peace is one sustains his current position. >> reporter: both salva kiir and riek machar are resolute.

>> since president enrique pena nieto has taken office, thousands are missing. going to take you from that story to sydney. press conference given by the president of new south wales and police commissioner. let's listen in. >> in the past 24 hours this city has made a tragedy that none of us could ever have imagined.

our first thoughts and prayers this morning are with the innocent victims of this horrendous, vicious attack. i want to say to their families that everyone in new south wales stand beside them. they stand beside them today, they stand beside them tomorrow. stand beside you forever. i want to pay tribute to the men and women of the new south wales police who saved many, many lives over the past 24 hours. they have risked their lives in doing so. i also want to pay tribute to all of the other workers and authorities who provided vanl valuable assistance.

they will be provided every support necessary in the coming days weeks and months. we are a peaceful harmonious society which is the envy of the world. today we must go about our usual business, we must work, we must talk to our family, we must talk to our friends. what i say to everyone in new south wales, today we must come together like never before. we are stronger together. we will get through this. we will get through this. with the events this we have seen have shane us, but they do not dampen our resolve. >> good morning, thank you, premier. ladies and gentlemen i'd like to now confirm and leave you in no

respect, means there's a thorough investigation which has already commenced. we need to actually find out what's happened here and what's happened inside that cafe. it's not going to speculate or to develop theories. we're going to work through the facts and we will advice you as soon as we can. at this time we ask for you to just think about the hostages. the premier has already indicated those that are caught up in the ordeal, i can only imagine the terror that they have been through. they're very brave people who in many cases were just buying a cup of coffee and they got caught up in this dreadful affair. which should reflect on the courage that they've displayed during the many hours in that room. they have made decisions hard decisions and our heart goes out to them. i'm sure you will agree. not knowing what was happening to their loved ones, it's been a

distressing time for those families, i'm sure you would agree. to the people of sydney, this is an isolated incident. it is an isolated incident. do not let this sort of incident bring about any loss of confidence about working or visiting our city. it was an act much an individual. this should never destroy or change the way of life and as the premier indicated, this will not change our way of life, this will not change the things we hold dear in this country. right now i ask for members of the community to come together. we're australians, we support mates, we help friends and this is exactly what we should be doing at this time. it's not about finding reasons the divide communities but finding ways to actually heal the wounds to help everyone grow stronger because we all want a stronger awfd. i too would like to commend the work of our police. while everyone might second-guess as to what's occurred in the last hours well they're the ones who this to

make the decision. our police had to actually do with this incident. it was tough exacting work. whether they're on a point or part of a team that had to make that entry and deal with that situation. i want to point out they have saved lives. they have saved many lives and to those men and women all that were involved we thank you. as your commissioner i thank you but as a community i'm sure australia thanks you. thank you that you're there and prepared to do this to put your life on the line to keep us safe is a very, very honorable cause and for that, our gratitude goes out to you. i can indicate to you that we have accounted for at this stage 17 hostages. that includes the five that escaped yesterday and a number that have been caught up with some with traumatic injuries, some with medical conditions. we have as you have reported, two deceased, is among the hostages, and six that were

uninjured. we also have a lone gunman who has been shot and killed and we have a male police officer who has been injured as a result of gunshot wound to the face. i have talked to that officer. he is in good condition. he is certainly been assessed and will be remains in hospital for some time. not too long we hope. but he is well and grateful to be alive let me assure you. that ladies and gentlemen is where i'll hand it over to you for questions. >> commissioner if i can ask, the decisions made it back to you? >> that was a decision that was made by the teams responsible. these are the experts. what we don't do is compete with those that have to make that call. they made the call because they believed at that time if they didn't enter there would have been many more lives lost. >> why do you think it happened, what had changed there? >> well i think that events that were unfolding inside the

premises led them to believe that now was the time to actually deploy and they did. >> what was happening inside? >> well at this stage i understand that there was a number of gun shots that were heard which caused officers to move straight to what we call an ea, emergency action plan and that caused them to enter. >> the gunman fell asleep at any stage and hostages made that break as -- >> i'm certainly not in a position to confirm that. now is not the time to second guess or speculate. this is a critical incident. we will go through this investigation, we need to get it right. we have talked to the coroner. you must understand the coroner has jurisdiction and we're going to work with the coroner at there stage. there is much to be done. >> was the gunman on armed battle or -- >> at this stage i'm not going to go into that, right now we're dealing with this critical incident, our thoughts and we're particularly turning our minds to looking after these hostages

and the families that have been caught up in those. we have had two that have died because of action he inside that cafe and we are particularly interested to make sure we're there to comfort the families of the los hostages. >> can you repeat that please? >> the uninjured hostages -- >> they're part of this investigation. we need to talk to them. they're being looked after in terms of their psychological needs at the moment. we'll then look at them but at this stage they have been well cared for. >> system is involved at this instance. >> do you know whether the hostage -- >> again as a result of an exchange of gun fire inside that premises, police moved in and at this stage as i've indicated we have a number of people that are injured and certainly we're working through that as part of the critical incident.

>> obviously what was the last contact that police had with (inaudible). >> again that's part of what will come out once we get further into this. but at this stage we're not going to enter into that. >> premier. >> sorry consume. >> (inaudible). >> look i've got no advice to that. i can't -- >> (inaudible). >> are you concerned that the victims (inaudible). >> well, i'm concerned that there was a vicious horrendous attack that has taken place in the heart of our city and there are many questions that will come in coming hours, days and weeks. what i can assure you is i will

answer every single one of them. we will get to the bottom of events and we will do everything possible to ensure we do not see happen again in this city what we saw in the last 24 hours. >> you've been listening to the press conference, premier of new south wales, followed by andrew scipione, the police commissioner of new south wales. he confirmed there are two dead among the hostages and he said that the hostage taker himself was shot and killed, confirming that death. andrew, clearly the police it pains to say an investigation is now taking place, he doesn't want to speculate. but talking about the sound of gun fire before the siege was brought to a halt by police.

>> that's right. that's what the piece is saying, the reason they went in as hard as they did when they did. the words by the police commissioner an exchange of gun fire heard from inside the cafe just after 2:00 a.m. local niem sydney, almost four hours ago there. as a result either that gun fire or the police operation that then ensued, three people lost their lives. the alleged gunman, the alleged arms hostage taker, the man we believe was man haron monis, the 50-year-old who had taken hostages in the cafe and two hostages, a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman both killed at the scene as well as the gunman. others injured including one police officer but we're told that none of those injuries are critical and that those people should survive their injuries. nevertheless, three people dead

including the gunman, the armed hostage-taker as a result of this siege is not the outcome that the police or the authorities here in australia wanted. this was an ongoing siege this the police hoped would meet a peaceful conclusion. it didn't. this dramatic scene is i'm sorry, a tragic end. >> commissioner scipione, said they had to make the decisions on the ground and they saved lives. there will be a lot of going-over of the police operation, won't there? >> there will. if total, the police say there were 17 hostages, one seven hostages. over the course of monday some of those hostages got out.

we're still not sure how they got out. five people sort of midafternoon evening sydney time, were seen running from the cafe initially. it is unclear whether they were released 50 hostage taker or whether they escaped. immediately before the police moved in a number of other hostages got out of the building at that stage as well. it is believed there were about nine hostages still inside the cafe when the police stormed it so it's very unclear at the moment as to how those hostages died. did they die as a result of action he by the hostage taker before the police moved in or did they die during the confrontation, unclear at the moment but it was the exchange of gun fire inside the cafe that led to the police swiftly moving to end this siege and the drama that unfolded in martin place a couple hundred meters from where i stand. >> thank you martin.

those investigations sure to continue, bye for now.

o. >> three dead as australian commandos end the sydney cafe siege as three hostages run for their lives. the gunman is determined to be manharon monis, facing multiple charges of sexual assault. this is al jazeera live from lon. also coming up. syrian say they killed 50 government soldiers in idlib. and a national strike