In a shocking turn of events, Australian police have labelled the recent knife attack at an Assyrian church in Sydney as a terrorist act, attributing it to suspected religious extremism.

In the attack that took place on Saturday, five of the six people killed in a knife attack were women. The only male was a guard who tried to save a woman from attack.

Australian police have said Saturday's attacks by Joel Cauchi, 40, which left six persons dead, were ‘related to the mental health of the individual involved’.