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| Down Under |
| Australia thwarts major terrorist attack |
| 2005-11-08 |
| Australian authorities believe they have foiled a major terrorist attack, arresting 17 people on Tuesday during raids in the country's two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne. The arrests come less than a week after Prime Minister John Howard said Australia received intelligence about a "terrorist threat" and urgently amended anti-terror laws making it easier for police to arrest suspects. "Intelligence was received that a group was making arrangements to stockpile chemicals and other materials capable of making explosives," New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma told a news conference in Sydney. "Police believe that the group was planning a terrorist attack in Australia," Iemma said. Victorian state Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said the target of any possible attack was not known, but ruled out a threat to the Commonwealth Games — due to be held in Melbourne in March and opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. "We believe they were planning an operation, we weren't exactly sure when nor, more importantly, what they planned to damage or do harm to," Nixon told Australian radio. Australian media last week reported that possible targets for extremists under police surveillance were the Sydney Opera House, harbour bridge, two Sydney oil refineries, the Australian stock exchange in Melbourne and Melbourne's main rail station. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Four Australians are awaiting trial in Sydney and Melbourne on terror charges, linked to supporting and training with banned groups such as al Qaeda. Police raided 23 houses in Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday as part of the country's largest ever counter-terrorism operation involving hundreds of police, following a 16-month investigation. "We believe 
we've disrupted a large-scale operation which, had it been allowed to go through to fruition, we certainly believe would have been catastrophic," New South Wales state Police Commissioner Ken Moroney told Australian television. Police confiscated a number of items in the raids, including chemicals that if combined would be "volatile," said Moroney. Several searches were still under way, police told Reuters. Police said eight people were arrested in Sydney and nine in Melbourne. Those arrested have been charged with offences including acts in preparation of a terrorist attack, being a member of a terrorist group and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. One man has been charged with directing a terrorist group. Police have not identified any of those arrested, but one of them included outspoken Muslim cleric Abu Bakr, his lawyer Rob Stary told reporters. Bakr has voiced his support for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, defended Muslims fighting U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, but denied any involvement in terror activities. The Australia Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), last week acknowledged for the first time that Australia had home-grown extremists, some of whom had received terror training overseas. Media reports have said ASIO is believed to have concerns over up to 800 Muslims in Australia who have voiced support for politically motivated violence, while up to 80 people resident in Australia were known to have trained with militant organizations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |