Islamic State claims responsibility for Melbourne seige

A deadly siege took place in the Australian city of Melbourne on Tuesday as a gunman held a woman hostage and shot at police officers.

According to the details provided, a 29-year-old male by the name of Yacqub Khayre held a woman hostage inside an apartment building in Melbourne. He had called a female escort and arranged to meet with her at the said location. However, when she arrived with a male staff member, Khayre killed him and took the woman hostage.

After holding the woman hostage for several hours, Khayre burst out of the building firing at the police, who shot and killed him in a retaliatory fire. The woman was rescued unhurt but three police officers received non-life threatening gunshot wounds.

After the deadly attack, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack by that the gunman was one of its fighters.

It was revealed by the Australian police that Khayre was a known criminal who was recently acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009.

“This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra.

“It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism,” he said.

Meanwhile the police are still investigating IS’s claims of the terror attack and are also trying to find out whether Khayre acted alone or had accomplices. The police raided a home where Khayre lived with his mother and initial reports show that he likely acted alone.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Jun 6 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.