Profile of Man Haron Monis, the man behind Sydney cafe siege

April 18, 2011 file image of Sheikh Man Haron Monis, the man identified as the gunman at the cafe. Photo / AAP

His motives are a mystery and his acts described as random and deranged, but analysts say the gunman who took a Sydney cafe full of terrified people hostage could still score a propaganda coup for jihadists.

Bearing a black jihadist flag, the Iranian-born Islamist created precisely the sort of lone-wolf attack urged by groups such as the Islamic State -- replete with bomb threats, hostages and panic in a major Western city.

Although any link to a specific group has yet to be established, the explosions and flashes of the dramatic police storming of the cafe that left two hostages and the hostage-taker dead, drove home the increasing reality of the "lone wolf" threat.

The gunman was named in Australian media as an Iranian-born "cleric" called Man Haron Monis, aged 49, who was well known to authorities.

He was described as a "fringe Islamist" who acted on his own, and while the reasons for his acts remained murky, analysts said IS could take it as a win for their cause.

Also known as Sheikh Haron, he was sentenced to 300 hours community service and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond in 2013 for sending "grossly offensive" letters to families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

So too was his co-accused and partner, 34-year-old Amirah Droudis, who pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting him.

Hostages run to safety during a cafe siege in Sydney. Photo / AP

A hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety. Photo / AP

Judge Mark Marien said Monis had sent a host of "grossly offensive" letters to the grieving families of seven soldiers killed in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009.

He also wrote to the family of a trade official killed in a bombing in Indonesia.

In some of the correspondence, soldiers were likened to murderers, while in others Monis said they were going to hell.

In a DVD sent to the widow of one of the soldiers, Lance Corporal Jason Marks, Droudis said: "We shouldn't be honouring them as we don't honour Hitler's soldiers."

Some of the other messages were simply too offensive to repeat, Judge Marien said in Sydney District Court.

"It is impossible that the offender Monis and Droudis would not have realised that the material being sent to the families was extremely distressing and hurtful," he said.

The sentencing marks the end of protracted legal proceedings, which included an unsuccessful High Court challenge to the charges.

Speaking outside court Monis, who pleaded guilty to 12 counts of using a postal service to cause offence, said his letters were simply "flowers of advice".

"Always, I stand behind my beliefs," he told reporters.

Monis arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1996.

Last November he was charged with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of his ex-wife, who was allegedly stabbed and set alight in her apartment complex. In March, he was charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman in 2002.

Most recently he has been charged with 50 charges of indecent assault relating to his time as a self-proclaimed "spiritual healer" who was involved with black magic in western Sydney a decade ago.

Monis has always claimed on his webpage that the charges are part of a witch hunt against him.

An armed tactical response police officer grabs a hostage as she flees from the cafe. Photo / AP

Tehran condemns deadly hostage-taking

Tehran has condemned the deadly hostage-taking in Australia reportedly by an Iranian-born gunman, branding it an act foreign to Islam, state media quoted a government official as saying.

"Undertaking such inhuman acts and provoking fear and panic in the name of merciful Islam is not in any way justifiable," Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, according to IRNA news agency.

Monis, an Iranian granted political asylum in Australia in 1996, was killed along with two of his 17 hostages when police stormed a Sydney cafe early Tuesday to end a day-long siege.

"The psychological state of mind of this individual, who took refuge in Australia almost two decades ago, has been discussed several times with Australian officials, who knew his (mental) condition," said Afkham.

The Australian newspaper called 50-year-old Monis a "self-styled sheikh" with a history of violent offences and who was on bail on charges of being an accessory in his ex-wife's murder.

Iranian media identified him as Mohamad Hassan Manteghi, a former Shiite cleric who changed his name when he moved to Australia.

A month ago, according to Iranian media, Monis declared on his official website allegiance to the leader of the jihadist Islamic State group, a Sunni-led organisation that considers Shiites as heretics.

In Australia, Monis' former lawyer, Manny Conditsis, said the public could be assured that the siege was not the work of an organised terrorist group.

"This is a one-off random individual," he told broadcaster ABC. "It's not a concerted terrorism event or act. It's a damaged goods individual who's done something outrageous."

- AAP