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ISLAMIC TERRORISM |
Anti-Terror raids in Melbourne and Sydney
Raids
by more than 400 officers in Melbourne and Sydney last
night resulted in the arrests of 15 people. One of those
arrested was Abu Bakr, a supporter of Sheik Mohammed
Omran in Melbourne.
Chemicals have been seized in Sydney and computers in
Melbourne.
One of
the terror suspects arrested this morning was
contemplating sacrificing himself as a martyr, the
Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard.
A
group of nine who have been charged with being members
of a terrorist organisation, which is allegedly linked
to another group in Sydney.
Whilst
some are claiming the new laws are behind the raids, the
AFP and ASIO had been monitoring these groups for a long
time and they are charged under pre-existing
laws.
I have
included the full report from
The
Australian, then one about
one of the suspects discussing suicide bombings and
martyrdom - then links to some other major reports.
There
are currently 765 articles on Google News!!! Well there
are now 897!
To
find all the articles or select others you want, Go
to Google, Type in
terror raids Melbourne
Then click on News in the top row, and all the media
articles appear!
Feature interview with - you guessed it - Keysar Trad!
400 police in anti-terror raids
The
Australian,
November 08, 2005
·
AT
least 15 people have been arrested - nine in Melbourne
and six in Sydney.
·
SOME
400 officers were involved, including AFP agents and
members of the state police forces in New South Wales
and Victoria.
·
SENIOR
police say the operation disrupted plans for a major
terrorist attack in Australia.
·
THE
suspects are expected to appear in courts in Melbourne
and Sydney this morning.
·
IN
Melbourne, the addresses of the raids were in Preston,
Dallas, Hoppers Crossing, Fawkner, Hadfield, Coburg,
Yarraville and Meadow Heights.
·
IN
Sydney, raids were reportedly conducted on 20 properties
in three suburbs, including Wiley Park.
FIFTEEN people, including a
prominent Muslim cleric, were arrested in raids
involving some 400 officers in Sydney and Melbourne this
morning in an operation police said "disrupted ... the
final stages of a large scale terrorist attack".
Nine people were arrested in
Melbourne, including Abu Bakr, a prominent radical
Islamic cleric who has praised Osama bin Laden, while
another six were held in Sydney.
Those arrested in Melbourne are
expected to appear in court this morning.
New South Wales Police
Commissioner Ken Moroney said the suspects were
"proposing to conduct a terror attack in Australia". It
would be "catastrophic" if successful, he said.
Some of the suspects are reported
to have links to an outlawed terrorist organisation. The
raids are still being carried out and involve searches
of properties in Australia's two largest cities. In
Melbourne, addresses at Preston, Dallas, Hoppers
Crossing, Fawkner, Hadfield, Coburg, Yarraville and
Meadow Heights were raided.
Victoria Police Chief
Commissioner Christine Nixon said on ABC radio this
morning the suspects were "charged with a range of
offences, both state and federal offences." "At this
stage the matters we're talking to them about were not
related to threats to the Commonwealth Games." Melbourne
will host the 2006 Commonwealth Games next March.
A home in Wiley Park in Sydney's
south-west has also been been named as the target of one
of the raids.
Some 400 officers, combining
Australian Federal Police agents and the state police
forces in NSW and Victoria, were reportedly involved. Mr
Moroney said some 15 homes were targeted. He expected
the six Sydney suspects would appear in court today. The
terrorist suspects had been planning their attack for 18
months, Mr Moroney said. The swoop follows changes to
the law that were rushed through Parliament last week by
the Federal Government. Prime Minister John Howard said
the changes were needed to help police avert a terrorist
attack. "A number of search warrants are currently being
executed in Sydney and Melbourne as part of a joint
operation by the AFP, New South Wales Police and
Victoria Police," an AFP spokeswoman said. "These
warrants relate to an ongoing investigation and as a
result it would be inappropriate to make any further
comment at this time. "Maintaining operational security
is paramount at this stage. We can confirm that the
ongoing operation relates to the area of
counter-terrorism."
The raids follow Mr Howard's
announcement last week that of a "serious" terrorist
threat, which necessitated the urgent legal amendment.
The Australian reported the threat was linked to a group
of Melbourne men who were spotted filming possible
targets.
The Government recalled the
Senate for a special sitting last week to pass one
measure which widened the scope for authorities to
arrest terrorist suspects. Labor, the Australian
Democrats and the Australian Greens have accused the
government of playing politics with national security
and trying to scare Australians. But Mr Howard last
night rejected the claims, saying he announced the
changes to anti-terror laws because they were in the
national interest."
At
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17176277%255E601,00.html
Suspect 'discussed martyrdom'
The Age, Dewi Cooke,
November 8, 2005 - 4:07PM
"A terror suspect arrested this morning was
contemplating sacrificing himself as a martyr, the
Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard.
Nine men were arrested in today's counter-terrorism
raids across Melbourne's northern and western
suburbs. They included Osama bin Laden supporter
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr.
The court was told the nine had formed a group aimed
at carrying out a jihad, or holy war.
Abdullah Merhi, 20, of Fawkner, appeared on charges
of intentionally being a member of a terrorist
organisation and knowing the organisation was a
terrorist organisation.
Seven of the other men are charged with the same
offences.
In electronic surveillance conducted by police since
July 2004, the apprentice electrician was heard
discussing with his group's so-called "spiritual
leader", Benbrika, 45, of Dallas, whether it would
be better to martyr himself overseas or in
Australia....."
At
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/11/08/1131407613325.html?from=top5
Group committed to jihad, court hears
ABC, Nov 8, 2005.
A Melbourne court has been told a man allegedly
connected to a Melbourne terrorist group wanted to
seek revenge for actions in Iraq. Sixteen people
were arrested in raids conducted by more than 400
police on a number of suburbs in Sydney and
Melbourne overnight. Two alleged members of a
Melbourne terrorist group must wait until the
morning to see if they have been granted bail. The
two men are a part of a group of nine who have been
charged with being members of a terrorist
organisation, which is allegedly linked to another
group in Sydney. There were no bail applications by
the other seven men. One of the men, 45-year-old
Abdul Benbrika, is also charged with directing the
activities of the group. The court has been told the
group was committed to the notion of jihad, and had
been recorded discussing bomb-making and martyrdom.
At a Glance
16 arrested in raids conducted by more than
400 police in Sydney and Melbourne. 9
arrested in Melbourne; 7 in Sydney.
Man shot during raid at Green Valley in
Sydney's south-west after first firing on
police.
The police chiefs of New South Wales and
Victoria say the raids foiled a terrorist
plot.
The Muslim community has reacted with
surprise at the raids.
Police allege one of the men who was named
in court as Abdul Amahi, expressed a wish to
become a suicide bomber to seek revenge on
infidels for their actions in Iraq. ..."
At
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1500537.htm
Raids 'foil terror attack'
AAP, Tuesday Nov 8 13:05 AEST
Police have shot and wounded
a terrorist suspect amid raids in two states which
authorities say have foiled a major terrorist attack
in Australia.
The man shot by police in the
Sydney suburb of Green Valley was one of 16 people
arrested in raids which the NSW and Victorian
governments say may have prevented a "catastrophic"
terrorist act.
Nine people were arrested in
Melbourne and seven in Sydney, police said.
Fearing an imminent terrorist
threat, hundreds of ASIO, Australian Federal Police
and state police officers swooped simultaneously on
homes in the two cities from 2.30am (AEDT), and
raids continued late on Tuesday morning....
.... NSW Premier Morris Iemma
said it was alleged the group in Sydney was
stockpiling chemicals capable of making explosives
and that they were believed to be planning a
terrorist attack in Australia. Substances believed
to be chemicals were seized in Sydney, police said,
while computers seized in Melbourne would also be
examined....."
At
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=70995
Terror attack imminent: Nixon
Courier Mail,
08nov05
"SECURITY
forces in two states have interrupted an imminent
terrorist attack with the potential to cause "great
harm" in the community, Victoria's police chief
said.
In the largest anti-terrorist
operation seen in Australia, Victorian, New South
Wales and Federal Police, ASIO and the NSW Crimes
Commission conducted simultaneous raids on
properties in Melbourne and Sydney about 2.30am (AEDT)
today, arresting 17 people on terrorist-related
offences.
One of those arrested in
Melbourne was Abu Bakr, a Muslim cleric who made
headlines in August for publicly stating his support
for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
The raids followed the
announcement by Prime Minister John Howard last week
of a possible terrorist strike on Australian soil,
which prompted urgent amendments to legislation to
widen the power of police to arrest and detain
terror suspects.
In a news conference today,
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon
said police feared a terrorist attack was about to
occur. "We were concerned that an attack was
imminent and we believe that we have sufficient
evidence to go before the courts to show that," Mrs
Nixon said. "It became more obvious to us as
information became available to us that the way
these people were behaving was of serious concern
and that we needed to interrupt that activity and
operation as soon as we could."..."
At
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17177084%255E1702,00.html
Muslim leader blasts media 'tip-offs'
The Age, November 8, 2005 -
1:46PM
A Muslim community leader has
blasted NSW police for allegedly tipping off the
media about today's counter-terrorism raids in
Sydney. Keysar Trad, of the Lebanese Muslim
Association, said he was concerned that the media
were waiting outside houses targeted in the city's
south western suburbs early today. Mr Trad said the
publicity would only alarm the general public and
said it was no way to handle national security.
"There is concern that in NSW virtually every
element of the media had been tipped off and they
were waiting outside the houses," he told ABC
television...."
At
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/muslim-leader-blasts-media-tipoffs/2005/11/08/1131407617631.html
Terror
operation not over: Keelty
Australian, Australia - 44 minutes ago
AN OPERATION that resulted in the arrest of 16 people on
terrorism related charges today is far from over,
Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty
...
Keelty
seeks suppression of terrorism allegations
ABC Online, Australia -
33 minutes ago
The head of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Mick
Keelty, says police want the details of allegations
against people arrested during counter-terrorism
...
Raid
shooting man 'critical'
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia -
1 hour ago
A man shot and critically wounded by police in Sydney's
west today is one of several people arrested in a series
of anti-terrorist raids across the city
...
'Australia's
biggest counter-terror operation'
The Age (subscription), Australia -
1 hour ago
By Elisabeth Lopez, Debbie Cuthbertson. Today's terror
raids which netted 17 arrests were the biggest
counter-terrorist police operation
...
Australia
foils 'catastrophic' terrorist chemical attack
The Observer, UK -
2 hours ago
Australian authorities believe they have foiled a major
terrorist attack after arresting 17 people in overnight
raids on homes in the country's two biggest
...
Six
to face court on terror charges
NEWS.com.au, Australia -
2 hours ago
NEW South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has
confirmed today's early morning raids on 15 southwest
Sydney properties was a
pre-emptive strike on a group
...
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