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Urgent review ordered into background of Sydney siege gunman

An urgent review has been ordered by the Australian government to answer a number of "obvious questions" about what could have been done to prevent the deadly siege at a Sydney café.

It comes as police in Sydney revealed they fought to keep gunman Man Haron Monis, who went on to kill two hostages in a 16-hour siege, in custody - but were overruled by the courts, police chiefs have revealed.

The 50-year-old gunman, who died as police stormed the building, was implicated in a string of serious crimes but had still been granted bail.

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'Hero' Sydney siege victims praised at special mass

The two hostages killed in a 16-hour siege in Sydney have been praised as "heroes" at a special mass in the city.

Mother-of-two Katrina Dawson, aged 38, was reportedly trying to protect her pregnant friend from being injured when she was shot and killed.

And the 34-year-old manager of the Lindt café, Tori Johnson, had spotted an opportunity and tried to wrestle the gun away from Iranian refugee Man Horan Monis.

The weapon went off in the struggle, killing Mr Johnson - but it sparked the police surge on the building which saw the remaining hostages rescued alive.

The revelations were made at a special mass at St Mary's Cathedral near the café, held to mark the end of the horror attack.

Meanwhile, president of the New South Wales Bar Association, Jane Needham, has paid tribute to Ms Dawson who worked as a lawyer in the region.

Katrina was one of our best and brightest barristers who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends.

– Jane Needham, New South Wales Bar Association
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Urgent review ordered into background of Sydney siege gunman

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