Police End Hostage Standoff with Islamist Gunman

People in Australia are still in shock after a deadly terror hostage situation in Sydney left many to wonder about the safety of their country.

It was a nearly 17-hour ordeal that ended with gunfire and explosions, which led to the death of the gunman and at least two other people.

The gunman wore an Islamic headband when he stormed the Lindt Chocolate Café in Sydney's financial district and held dozens of people hostage for hours.

Police entered the cafe after five or six hostages were seen running out of the building. Those who hadn't managed to get away earlier ran from the cafe during the raid, and at least two were eventually carried out on stretchers.

The gunman was identified as Man Haron Monis seen in a video from a former court appearance. The Iranian-born man was a self-proclaimed Islamic sheikh and alleged sexual predator.

The situation in Sydney raises questions about terrorist threats in Australia and around the world. CBN News Terrorism Analyst Erick Stakelbeck explains more. Click play below to watch.

He'd been accused of dozens of counts of sexual assault and the brutal murder of an ex-wife.

The situation began at the height of Monday morning's rush hour.

"Yeah I saw the gunman. He was quite tall, probably late 40s," one eyewitness said. "And he was very calm, he was just pacing."

Minutes after storming the restaurant, the man with suspected links to ISIS, forced customers to hoist two black flags with the Arabic saying, "There is no god but Allah; Mohammed is the messenger of Allah."

Several others were forced to press their hands and faces against the store's front window.

"This is a very disturbing incident," Abbott said. "It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation."

The siege comes just months after Australian police launched the biggest counterterrorism raids in that nation's history after getting information that Islamic terrorists were plotting to conduct public beheadings.

The threat from homegrown Islamic radicals is a big concern after 90 Australians traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside ISIS and other terrorist groups.

Meanwhile in southern France, authorities dismantled an ISIS terror network. French police raided dozens of locations where jihadists were preparing to send fighters to Syria.

France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, and in recent years, hundreds of its citizens have fought with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq and have called for attacks on their homeland.