These photos show the moment when two terrified cafe workers managed to escape from the cafe where they had been held hostage for several hours by a lone Islamic fundamentalist.

Hostage takings are sadly all too common and almost impossible to resolve with out endangering life in the process. The police who eventually entered the cafe managed to release most of the terrified hostages who were still held but tragically two were killed in the gunfire and the hostage taker was also killed. He was named as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee who was known to the police in relation to dozens of sexual assault charges. It is not yet known who shot who and whether the hostages were killed by police bullets or were fired at by the gunman. There is a sense of relief that the loss of life was not greater however. The siege is a sad reminder of how deadly and unexpected acts of terrorism can be.