Flash: Australia - Today 'largest ever' Islamic Terrorist Attack Foiled

[1feral1]

Shared IAW the usual......

Link
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25879579-421,00.html

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Four Arrested Over Army Base Suicide Attack Plot
By staff writers and wires
NEWS.com.au
August 04, 2009 03:13pm

Suspected terrorists face court.

Four men have appeared in court following terror raids overnight. About 400 officers were involved in the early morning raids / Picture: David Geraghty
Police swoop on suspected terror cell
Say group was planning attack on army base

ONE of the men arrested over an alleged plot to launch a suicide shootout at an Australian Army base has been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack.

A court heard this afternoon that the suspects shared text messages discussing the address of a Sydney military base - believed to be Holsworthy Barracks in the city's west - and a train station.

Four men were arrested in the pre-dawn raids at 19 properties across several Melbourne suburbs this morning.  About 400 state and federal police were involved in the raids.

A 25-year-old man is expected to appear in court on the terrorism charge this afternoon.  A 26-year-old man, another 25-year-old and a 22-year-old were also arrested around 4.30am AEST.

Authorities have also been granted more time to question a suspect named as Saney Aweyz, who they allege was caught discussing the plot.  His age and address was not released.  Police have said a 33-year-old man already in custody was also being interviewed.

AFP Acting Commissioner Tony Negus said authorities would allege the men were "planning to carry out a suicide terror attack involving an armed assault with automatic weapons ... a sustained attack on military personnel until they themselves were killed".

"We've disrupted an alleged terror attack that could have claimed many lives."

Emily Howard, a young woman who lives near one of the raided homes, told Melbourne's Herald Sun that it was shocking to learn of what had happened.  “To think someone in your street could do something like that. It’s just horrible,” she said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said today's raids show "the threat of terrorism is alive and well and this requires continued vigilance".

Plot details

The Australian newspaper, which broke the story this morning, reported the plot centred on the Holsworthy Army base in western Sydney.  Holsworthy is home to some of Australia's elite counter-terrorism troops.


The investigation of the group, dubbed Operation Neath, involved about 150 members of the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO. It was launched in late January after authorities intercepted a phone call from one suspect wanting help to fight in Somalia, according to The Australian.

The men arrested are Australian nationals of Somali and Lebanese background.  Most are labourers employed in Melbourne's construction industry or taxi drivers.  It has been reported that the alleged cell had about 18 members.

It was not immediately clear when the alleged attack was planned to have taken place.  Victoria Police chief commissioner Simon Overland said more details would emerge when the men faced court.

But authorities believe the group was at an advanced stage of planning the alleged attack, which was conceived as punishment for Australia's military involvement in Muslim countries.  NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the attack was "likely imminent".

Electronic surveillance on the suspects is believed to have picked up discussions about ways to obtain weapons to carry out what would be the worst terror attack on Australian soil.

'Inspiration'

The alleged cell was inspired by the Somalia-based terrorist movement al-Shabaab, which is trying to overthrow the Somali government and replace it with an extreme brand of Islam.  Two Melbourne men, both Somalis, have travelled to Somalia in recent months to obtain training with the extremist organisation, which is aligned with al-Qaeda, The Australian reported.

One of those men had already returned to Melbourne and is believed to have been among those arrested today. The other was still in Somalia.

Acting AFP Commissioner Negus said alleged members of the group had been seeking a fatwa to justify a terrorist attack in Australia.

It is understood that several members of the group wanted to travel to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab, but when travel became difficult, they turned their attention to home.

Leak row

Commissioner Overland also said he was "extremely disappointed" with the initial reporting of the plot.  He said he had been told editions of The Australian reporting the plot had appeared three hours before the raids took place, putting officers' lives in danger. 

"(It posed) an unacceptable risk to the operation and an unacceptable risk to our staff, it's a risk that I take very seriously and is a cause for great concern.  We will be vigorously pursing the leak from my end," he said.

But the paper's editor-in-chief disimssed the criticism and denied the report appeared before the raids. 

"Simon Overland is wrong. This is his sour grapes about not getting enough credit for Victorian police and him protecting himself against complaints from Victorian editors."
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Hummmmmm,

It appears these citizens of convenience forgot their pledge the day they got Australian citizenship.

Australian Citizenship Pledge: (the same one I took in 1997)

From this time forward, under God

I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people

whose democratic beliefs I share,

whose rights and liberties I respect, and

whose laws I will uphold and obey

------------------

Thank goodness for ever vigilent Police and Security Forces.

Today they saved lives.

We are however, only as strong as our weakest link, and sooner or later these gutless cowards will clock up a win.


Regards,

OWDU

EDITed for spelling and grammar.

 

[leroi]

Shared IAW the usual......
Thank goodness for ever vigilent Police and Security Forces.
Today they saved lives.
We are however, only as strong as our weakest link, and sooner or later these gutless cowards will clock up a win.  :+1:

Regards,
OWDU

Whew, that was a close call but I believe like you do, Wes, we need to remain vigilant because it's only a matter of time before our countries become targets. Surveillance needs to begin early with these terrorist cells.

Kudos to Australian security personnel!

 

[Yrys]

Court outburst over Sydney 'plot'

One of five men charged in Australia for allegedly planning a suicide attack
on a Sydney army base has denied in court that he was a terrorist. "Your
army kills innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan," Wissam Mahmoud Fattal
shouted to the magistrate as he was led from the court.

The five were detained on Tuesday in a series of raids in Melbourne. They are
Australian nationals of Somali and Lebanese descent, with suspected links to
Somali militants. Mr Fattal, 33, refused to stand before the magistrate in a
Melbourne court, where he and the other four suspects were charged with
conspiring to plan an attack on Sydney's Holsworthy military base. He did
not enter a plea.

"You call us terrorists - I've never killed anyone in my life," he shouted. "Your
army kills innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel takes Palestinian
land by force."

'Seeking fatwa'

Australia contributed troops to the war in Iraq and has about 1,500 troops in
Afghanistan. Mr Fattal and the other suspects have been remanded in custody
until their next hearing on 26 October.

Officials believe they are linked to the Somali-based al-Shabab group, and that
one suspect had participated in fighting there and others had undergone military-
style training there. Al-Shabab is trying to overthrow the weak UN-backed Somali
government and is believed to have links to al-Qaeda. The group is banned in the
US as a terrorist group, but not in Australia. Government officials said they would
review its legal status.

"The men's intention was to actually go into the [Holsworthy] army barracks and to
kill as many soldiers as they could before they themselves were killed," said Tony
Negus, acting chief commissioner of the Australian Federal Police. The attack would
have been the most serious terrorist attack on Australian soil, Mr Negus added.

"Members of the group have been actively seeking a fatwa or religious ruling to
justify a terror attack on Australia," he said. Prosecutors told the court there were
phone conversations, text messages and surveillance footage, including footage of
one of the suspects outside the Holsworthy army base, linking the suspects to an
alleged attack.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "The sobering element of today's deve-
lopment is the reminder to all Australians that the threat of terrorism is alive and
well, and this requires continued vigilance on the part of our security authorities."

The country's security level is still at medium, where it has been since 2003. The
police said the raids followed a seven-month operation involving several state and
federal agencies.


Measuring the threat,  ANALYSIS by Nick Bryant for BBC News, Sydney

Meeting Somalia's al-Shabab

 

[basrah]

Correct me if Im wrong, but isnt 4RAR stationed at Holsworthy? If I was going to attack an army base, I would probably choose one that wasnt filled with some of the top soldiers in the nation.

I think this is evidence that we really need to start looking at our own bases and start stepping up security. Im not going to go into details about what is wrong, but Im sure everyone who works on a CF base can imagine a few problems.

 

[George Wallace]

Correct me if Im wrong, but isnt 4RAR stationed at Holsworthy? If I was going to attack an army base, I would probably choose one that wasnt filled with some of the top soldiers in the nation.

I think this is evidence that we really need to start looking at our own bases and start stepping up security. Im not going to go into details about what is wrong, but Im sure everyone who works on a CF base can imagine a few problems.

I guess you don't remember the cries from Johnny and Jane Tax Payer who demanded that they see what their Tax Dollars were paying for and a "weak" Federal Government obliged them with an "Open Base Policy".

 

[helpup]

I guess you don't remember the cries from Johnny and Jane Tax Payer who demanded that they see what their Tax Dollars were paying for and a "weak" Federal Government obliged them with an "Open Base Policy".

George, I agree with the cost cutting measures. But are you sure it was the Federal Govt that instituted the Open Base policy?

 

[George Wallace]

George, I agree with the cost cutting measures. But are you sure it was the Federal Govt that instituted the Open Base policy?

It certainly wasn't the Military.

 

[dustinm]

Just how did the government get authorization to intercept the initial phone calls?

What's wrong with my desire to go to Somalia that's gonna cause the government to monitor me?

If the government keeps intercepting things, soon you'll find terrorists switching to encrypted CB and shortwave, or going completely low-tech and simply using dead-drops.

 

[Yrys]

What's wrong with my desire to go to Somalia that's gonna cause the government to monitor me?

With the state of Somalia for the past few years, what kind of activities
the people wanting to go there have in mind to do, you think?

 

[Edward Campbell]

Just how did the government get authorization to intercept the initial phone calls?

...

Probably got a court order, relative to either:

a. some sort of criminal investigation; or

b. some sort of legally and properly authorized security investigation.

Or the intelligence may have come from intercepts of traffic in (or to) Somalia by Australian or other SIGINT agencies. I'm guessing that the Australian Defence Signals Directorate (or whatever it's called these days) is not supposed to intercept traffic to or from Australians, in Australia, but that doesn't mean that others may not have been monitoring Australia <=> Somalia traffic. Once the intelligence is gathered, analyzed and shared it is out there - demanding to be "used" for the defence of the realm.

I'm guessing (again) that some (many? most?) terrorists are already taking precautions to secure their C2 systems - I certainly would if I was in their shoes - but I suspect that it's difficult when you are recruiting people.

 

[Yrys]

I'm guessing (again) that some (many? most?) terrorists are already taking precautions to secure their C2 systems - I certainly would if I was in their shoes - but I suspect that it's difficult when you are recruiting people.

It might be one of the thing in our favor : the difficulty for them to balance
need of security vs need to be out there to recruit...

 

[1feral1]

Correct me if Im wrong, but isnt 4RAR stationed at Holsworthy? If I was going to attack an army base, I would probably choose one that wasnt filled with some of the top soldiers in the nation.

4RAR is now nown as 2 Cdo.

Its not as easy as the media is telling the world to enter one of our bases at a gate, regardless of what unit is there.

Plenty of fences to scale though.

Cheers,

OWDU

 

[helpup]

Kudo's to the authorities for catching them. Now of course will come the indignation from the accussed.  I would rather mea - culpa's done the odd time over mistakes then successfull attacks.