A dirill held at Lindt cafe a year ago

Something needs to be explained here!

Drill Held At Same Exact Lindt Cafe Location In Sydney Last Year

Australian hostages at LOCATION OF A TERRORISM DRILL 1 year ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBkRL...

Australian Defence Force counter terrorism operation halts Sydney CBD

News.com.au

2 May, 2013

STUNNED onlookers couldn’t believe their eyes as an army counter terrorism operation in Martin Place unfolded before them in the early hours of the morning.

At 1am, with the Daily Telegraph present, a convoy of dark Toyota 4WDs, with their spotlights blazing, sped down Macquarie St and burst onto Martin Place to unload a team of highly specialised Australian Defence Force counter terrorism soldiers.

With rifles drawn, faces covered in balaclavas and gas masks, and night vision goggles perched on their helmets, about 50 camouflaged soldiers fanned out through Martin Place in near-perfect silence in search of mock terrorists that had overtaken the underground Martin Place train station.

As police officers and an ambulance watched on, soldiers headed for the atrium at the centre of the pedestrian mall beside the old Commonwealth Bank building and hauled their tactical equipment over a glass barrier and descended the steps to the MLC food court.

Other soldiers kept guard at checkpoints around the iconic Sydney business precinct, securing the area as onlookers walking by and waiting at bus stops pulled out their phones to capture the surreal operation happening in front of them.

Realising the food court wasn't the entrance to the station, soldiers backtracked to a corridor next to Martin Place Bar where they apprehended the first of the fictitious masked terrorists.

Several bystanders and a passing garbage truck asked the Telegraph if the deployment was a real army operation. There were sighs of relief when people were informed it wasn't.

"That was bloody full on wasn't it," one shocked man said.

"When they all came I didn't know what to think."

Once the soldiers moved into the subterranean target zone to carry out the rest of their mission a team of soldiers remained above ground in sentry positions.

An official statement from the Australian Defence Force explained the purpose of the night's operation.

"These training exercises are being conducted to ensure that the Australian Defence Force has the highest level of capability to support Australia's national interests," the statement said.

With the action starting just metres from their tent, the Occupy Sydney members were unfazed by all the commotion.

"I just organised the army guys to come and watch the place so we could go to the pub," one member, Lance, said.

"They told us at eight they were coming. I was dozing off and next thing they were all around.

"Notice how they didn't shut the area down; it's good that they're getting the public used to this stuff."

Another Occupy member, Mirko Durdevic, was impressed with the professionalism with which the soldiers carried out the operation.

"It didn't bother me at all. They were doing their job very professionally, they were very quiet," he said.

The soldiers returned to waiting 4WDs in Macquarie St at 2am before speeding off into the night.

Mission complete.

Here is the news coverage of the same