SYDNEY, December 15. /TASS/. Police in Sydney have launched an assault on the cafe where a gunman has been holding hostages, a TASS correspondent reported on Monday.

Several hostages have fled from the cafe minutes before the assault began. Some of them were carried by policemen to ambulance cars.

The siege at the Lindt cafe in Sydney's financial district has lasted for more than 15 hours.

According to media reports, the hostage taker is Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee.