ifs b but i do want now, in the immediate hours after the siege, to offer these words of comfort to those caught up in it and reassurance to the australia people. >> that was australia prime minister tony abbott addressing the siege in sydney. officials saying motivations were political but not specifying what those motivations were. the siege happen in a coffee shop with 17 people. in september australia raised its terrorism alert level from medium to high giving police stronger power to fight extremist groups like isis.