Gunman and two hostages killed

The gunman and two hostages are dead in the Sydney siege:

At 2.10am three gunshots rang out in rapid succession - followed by a volley of gun fire - bringing to an end the 16 hour siege which had terrified the nation and captured the attention of the world.

As building fire alarms rang out a team of about six heavily armed tactical response police officers began throwing what appeared to be stun hand-grenades into the building.

Just minutes before...