A SELF-styled sheik and preacher of Islamic State on bail for accessory to murder is the gunman who was last night holding 15 terrified hostages in Sydney's Lindt cafe.
The revelations came after a day of unprecedented horror in Sydney's heart, with the first Islamic attack hitting NSW soil. The 49-year-old, originally from Iran who now lives in southwest Sydney, had previously sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, calling them murderers, and earlier this year was charged with sexual assault.
Armed with a shotgun and a flag linked to extremist groups, the radical Islamic preacher burst into the cafe at 9.45am, taking up to 20 hostages. Just five hostages had escaped the cafe by 8.30pm.
Workers in nearby buildings were evacuated or locked down and ordered away from windows as heavily armed police moved into Martin Place.
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Gunman identified as IS
FROM PAGE 1 Terrified hostages were forced to hold the Islamic flag bearing the words: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger".
The gunman, who arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1996, forced his hostages to the windows to act as human shields and in calls from the cafe they referred to him as "The Brother".
He was charged with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of his ex-wife, allegedly stabbed and set alight in a stairwell of her Sydney apartment complex.
His current partner was charged with murder. The couple was given bail in Penrith Local Court, with Magistrate Darryl Pearce saying the Crown's case was weak.
Then in March this year the selfstyled preacher was arrested and charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman in NSW for "spiritual healing" in 2002.
His alleged victim, 27 at the time, allegedly saw an advertisement for "spiritual consultation'' in a local newspaper and contacted him He told her he was an expert in astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic and advised her to visit his clinic.
One theory being investigated by intelligence officials was the Lindt cafe was not his primary target and that he rushed in there after being spooked by members of the public who alerted police to his behaviour.
The suspected terrorist had previously been detained on suspicion of terrorism-related offences, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Senior intelligence sources confirmed that the man was known to authorities and had been detained and questioned earlier this year.
Last night the government confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that the man was known to security agencies but would not elaborate.
It was not clear last night whether he was on a national security watch list but some members of the intelligence community questioned how he slipped through the net.
