国际英语新闻:Three dead as Sydney siege ends

SYDNEY, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Sydney's terror siege ended in tragedy early Tuesday morning with three dead - including the lone gunman - as police stormed the cafe.

Flashes of light and gunshot rang out from the building only moments after six hostages escaped from armed Islamic preacher Sheik Man Haron Monis just after 2am.

Police confirmed two of the hostages -- who was part of 20 being held since 9:45am yesterday -- were killed and at least four others were injured, one of them a police officer.

"Shots were fired during the confrontation. As a result, the 50- year-old man was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. Another man, aged 34, and a woman, aged 38, were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital," the police statement said.

Four people are being treated at hospital including a woman in her 40s, who is serious but stable with a gunshot wound, a police officer, who suffered a bullet graze to the cheek and a woman, who suffered back problems.

Shortly after 2:15am police forced entry to the building using flash grenades and gunfire.

The exchange of gunfire started with three discrete bangs, with the first shot bringing about five people from the building.

A space followed between the subsequent second shot and then a near-continuous volley of about a dozens of shots was later heard.

The gunman Haron is known to police as a self-styled preacher of Islamic State and is on bail for accessory to murder. Haron was also charged this year with indecent and sexual assault of women in 2002. He was hit with an additional 40 charges in October.

The man, originally from Iran who now lives in southwest Sydney, had previously sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, calling them murderers.

Armed with a shotgun and a flag linked to extremist groups, Haron had burst into the cafe yesterday morning. The hostages were used as human shields, forced to stand at the window and hold the Islamic flag bearing the words: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger".