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| Down Under |
| ASIO mounts raid in response to terror threat |
| 2005-06-22 |
| ASIO yesterday raided a series of houses after receiving intelligence that a radical Islamic group was plotting a terrorist attack on Australia. The Daily Telegraph has learned that extremist cells in Sydney and Melbourne have been liaising on plans to carry out a terror assault. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House were named as targets but sources said the group intended to strike first in Melbourne. The extremists have been secretly bugged talking about overseas terrorist incidents and revealing how they wanted to commit similar attacks in Melbourne. About six Melbourne members have attended training camps in remote areas of Victoria during the past year. Surveillance officers have confirmed the Melbourne cell has connections with a radical Islamic group in Sydney. The Sydney group has been observed using small boats to observe the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Yesterday's ASIO raids - in which Victoria Police and Australian Federal Police were also involved - were designed to disrupt the group before members were able to go ahead with their plans. Authorities do not expect to charge members of the network at this stage - unless the raids turn up unexpected information. ASIO and AFP agents have for months been ready to swoop if cell members moved to buy materials or looked like endangering lives. One of the four Melbourne houses raided yesterday was in the city's northern suburb of Brunswick East, where ASIO officers, AFP agents and members of Victoria Police's security intelligence group searched a home from 8am to 3pm. The Melbourne cell never reached the stage of nominating targets or discussing specific terrorist attacks. "But they have shown a real intent to do something, that they actually want to do something," a source told The Daily Telegraph. "They are talking a lot about terrorist attacks overseas and expressing extremist views and talking about doing something here to show support for those Islamic groups committing terrorist acts elsewhere. "They do go off together on what they call training camps, where they go off and set themselves up on deserted properties. "But they aren't training camps in the way al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiyah have terrorist training camps. It's more a case of hardening themselves up, starving themselves for days, living rough. A bonding experience. "Other than that, they pray together at the same mosque, they meet each other regularly and share their extremist views. "They have links with people in Sydney who have links with other extremist Islamic groups. "But I wouldn't describe them as a tangible group with solid connections to any known terrorist group. "Nevertheless, what they have discussed is disturbing enough to warrant breaking them up." AFP agents at the Brunswick East Housing Commission property raided were granted entry without resistance. "I woke up and found them about 8am, maybe it was earlier," a neighbour said. "There were four to five unmarked cars, people came and went." The Lebanese family of five living at the address that was raided declined to talk to The Daily Telegraph yesterday. A spokeswoman for Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock yesterday confirmed ASIO was involved in a series of searches in Melbourne. She refused to say if further raids were expected. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |