Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Armed tactical response officers stand ready to enter the Lindt cafe during a siege in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Many of the people inside the cafe were holiday shoppers. (AP Photo/Glenn Nicholls)

Opinion: The Terrorist in the Café

by Ali Ibrahim | Dec 17, 2014 | Opinion

The recent attacks by fanatical individuals in different cities and capitals across the world in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) beg some important questions: are they just random terrorist attacks by psychologically fragile individuals, or is...

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People pray and lay flowers near the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Martin Place following a dramatic siege in Sydney, Australia, on December 16, 2014. (EPA/Nikki Short)

Australia’s Grand Mufti denounces Sydney gunman

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 16, 2014 | World

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Australia’s Grand Mufti denounced the actions of a Muslim gunman who held more than a dozen people hostage in a café in downtown Sydney on Monday, as Australians took to social media to rally against Islamophobia. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat...

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Two heavily armed police officers assist a hostage away from Lindt Cafe in Martin Place in central Sydney on December 16, 2014. (Reuters/Jason Reed)

Police storm Sydney cafe to end hostage siege, reports say 3 dead

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 15, 2014 | World

Sydney, Reuters—Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe on Tuesday to free several hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours. Media said three people, including the gunman, had been...

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Police stand near the Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, at Martin Place in central Sydney December 15, 2014. (REUTERS/David Gray)

Hostage taking in Sydney cafe sparks fears of Islamist-linked attack

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 15, 2014 | World

Sydney, Reuters—Australian police locked down the center of the country’s biggest city on Monday after an armed man walked into a downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack. Police said...