[NYT] In recent years, the small Australian town of Young has seen a steady influx of Lebanese Muslim families. Among them are members of the Zahab family. Now one of them, Haisem Zahab is accused of using the internet to try to help the Islamic State develop a guided missile. Officials suspect that some of his relatives traveled to Syria to join the extremist group.The allegations about the Zahab family have shaken many residents in the town, who have long taken pride in its peaceful multiculturalism. They have also stoked some of the worst fears about homegrown links to terrorism in a country that is grappling with immigration policy and labor shortages.
Zahab was arrested during a raid at his property on February 28. He was accused of researching and designing a long-range guided missile and laser warning device for use by Islamic State militants.
Zahab's extended family had been under investigation for 18 months, and officials suspected that some of his relatives had traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State and had sent money from the sale of their Sydney home to terrorists in Syria. A police report detailed how investigators believed the family had moved money there.
Zahab was charged with foreign incursion offenses, which are antiterrorism statutes that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. After Zahab's arrest, police officers spent days searching his 10-acre property, using metal detectors and digging up the yard in search of evidence.
His arrest comes as Australians have been on heightened alert. The terrorism threat level in the country was elevated to "probable" in September 2014, and since then there have been four attacks tied to terrorism in Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that a dozen more have been foiled and that more than 60 people have been charged as a result of counterterrorism operations across the country.
In recent days, Turnbull, who has seized on Zahab's arrest as "yet another reminder of the enduring threat we face from Islamist terrorism," has ramped up his language, declaring his country’s objective is to kill Islamic State fighters. He said, "Our goal as far as those who serve with Daesh in the Middle East is to kill them. Let me be quite frank — that is our goal."