Australian Prime Minister Says Deadly Hostage Situation in Melbourne Was 'Terrorist'

The Prime Minister of Australia states that the police have assessed the deadly hostage situation in the south of Melbourne as a 'terrorist operation.' A group known as the Islamic State has claimed that the armed individual killed during the incident was one of its 'soldiers.' According to reports from Australia, during the hostage situation on June 5, an Australian citizen and the armed individual were killed, and three police officers were injured. The police were alerted to the hostage situation at 4 AM on Monday following an explosion. Upon arrival, they encountered the body of a man at the entrance of the residential building where the incident occurred. The armed man had taken a woman hostage. Following a shooting, the hostage-taker was killed, and three police officers were injured. The identity of the hostage-taker has been reported as 'Yaqoub Khayri,' and security forces state that his name had been mentioned in connection with charges related to a plot to attack a military base in Sydney in 2009. Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of Australia, stated, 'This shocking terrorist attack was carried out by a known criminal, a man who had recently been released on parole; this is a cowardly crime.' The group known as the Islamic State has also claimed that the assailant was a 'soldier' of the group. The Victoria police say they are investigating the claims made. The police inspector has stated, 'We are aware of the claims they have made. However, they jump up and down and claim responsibility whenever something happens, and we find out.' Meanwhile, police are also investigating a phone call to an Australian television network in which a man claimed that the attack was linked to the 'Islamic State.' Yaqoub Khayri, 29 years old, was of Somali descent and had a significant criminal record. He was on parole at the time of the attack, although it is unclear which of his convictions the parole was related to.