The flag displayed by hostages held inside a Sydney cafe by an armed terrorist bears the words 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' written in white Arabic on a black background. Called the Shahada flag, it differs from the black and white flag used by the terror group ISIS, which has carried out beheadings at other atrocities in Syria and Iraq. The flag is used by the extremist group, Jabhat al Nusra, which is fighting the Assad government in Syria. But it has meaning for all Muslims, in that the Shahada is the Islamic Creed, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which is recited by Muslims when they pray.
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The flag displayed in the Martin Place siege is emblem of Jabhat al-Nusra
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The group was formed to fight the Syrian government
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The flag includes Muslim creed called 'Shahada' written in Arabic
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Shahada states 'There is no God but Allah' and has meaning to all Muslims
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Jabhat al-Nusra has been linked with Al Qaeda
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It has not previously not targeted Western victims
Although the group is affiliated with Al Qaeda, JN has previously not emphasised an attack @placeholder targets or global jihad, focusing instead on the ‘near enemy’ of the Syrian state.