Australia’s PM Turnbull: Melbourne siege 'a terrorist attack'

On Tuesday, Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra, police were treating a deadly siege in the southern city of Melbourne as an "act of terrorism" after a claim by the Islamic State group that one of its fighters was the gunman responsible, Reuters reports.

Key Points:

Police shot dead gunman Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history, on Monday after he killed a man in the foyer of an apartment block in Melbourne and held a woman hostage inside.

PM Turnbull noted: "This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime. It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism."