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Aussie hard boyz had chemical stockpiles
The Sydney arm of an alleged Islamic terror network had stockpiled enough chemicals to make at least 15 large bombs, a newspaper reported Thursday, as police sifted through evidence seized in a series of pre-dawn raids earlier this week.The eight suspects arrested Tuesday in Sydney and charged with conspiracy to manufacture explosives in preparation for a terrorist attack had registered a series of company names to justify large purchases of industrial chemicals, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing unidentified investigators. Two suspects, part-time actor Omar Baladjam, 28, and Bosnian-born Mirsad Mulahalilovic, 29, had painting businesses that could be used as a possible cover for buying the chemicals, the newspaper reported. Acetone -- often used as a solvent and paint thinner -- is a key ingredient in a deadly cocktail of chemicals dubbed "Mother of Satan," because so many people have died while preparing the deadly bombs, the Sydney Morning Herald said. It did not specify whether the ingredient had been found among the evidence, however. Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty cast doubt on the report, but Attorney-General Philip Ruddock confirmed bomb ingredients were seized in the raids. "My understanding of the evidence is that some of the product had been actually purchased, others had been ordered," he told ABC radio. "The intelligence assessment is that this was an enterprise designed to manufacture a very large quantity of explosives." The raids led to the postponement Thursday of the trial of former Melbourne cab driver Joseph Thomas on charges of sending funds to al Qaeda and receiving money from the terror group. Thomas, who has pleaded innocent to receiving al Qaeda money and has not entered pleas to other charges, was due to stand trial next Monday, but Supreme Court Judge Philip Cummins said publicity about this week's terror arrests in Melbourne and Sydney could prejudice a jury -- even though Thomas' case is unrelated. Meanwhile, federal lawmakers were expected to begin debating Prime Minister John Howard's proposed raft of tough new anti-terrorism laws later Thursday, and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the government would consider introducing laws to strip convicted terrorists of their Australian citizenship. The anti-terror legislation, which has met with opposition from legal and civil rights groups, would enable authorities to hold terror suspects without charge for two weeks and monitor them with electronic tracking devices for up to a year. The proposed laws also toughen jail terms for inciting race hatred or violence against the community, and have been criticized as an attack on free speech. The debate comes as investigators continue to examine evidence seized in Tuesday's terror raids, in which 17 people were arrested and police said they had foiled a "catastrophic" attack on Australian soil. Victoria state police acting Deputy Commissioner Noel Ashby said Wednesday that police and security agencies were examining evidence including computers, documents and chemicals, and may file more charges against nine men arrested in Melbourne and eight in Sydney. Prosecutors said the Sydney and Melbourne terror cells were led by Algerian-born radical cleric Abu Bakr, 45, who was among those arrested. He made headlines earlier this year by calling Osama bin Laden a "great man," and saying he would be violating his religious beliefs if he told his followers not to travel to Iraq to join the insurgency. Seven of the Sydney suspects were taken Wednesday in a high-security vehicle convoy to a maximum security prison 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city, and will be held in solitary confinement, according to media reports. The eighth suspect, Baladjam, was recovering in a heavily guarded Sydney hospital after being injured in a gunfight with police. He has been charged with a terror offense and intent to murder. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-11-10 |
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