An unknown number of staff and customers are being held inside a central Sydney, Australia cafe where a black flag with white Arabic writing could be seen in the window, local television showed on Monday, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamist militants.Live television footage showed patrons inside the Lindt Chocolate Café in Martin Place standing with their hands pressed against the windows.Prime minister Tony Abbott and NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione say the motives of the siege are not known.Reports have ranged from 8 to 50 people might have been held. Five different hostages have been sighted in news footage.
