Australia terror suspects planned barracks suicide attack, say police
Four men arrested in Melbourne allegedly planned to enter army barracks with guns and kill as many soldiers as they could
Police in Australia said today they had foiled a plot to stage a suicide attack on an army barracks in suburban Sydney, after arresting four men with suspected links to a militant Somali Islamist group.
"The men's intention was to actually go into the army barracks and to kill as many soldiers as they could until they themselves were killed," said the country's federal police commissioner, Tony Negus.
Police search a car at a Melbourne suburb after a pre-dawn raid at one of 19 locations Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009, in Australia. Some 400 officers from state and national security services took part in 19 pre-dawn raids on properties in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city following a seven-month surveillance operation of a group of people allegedly linked to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked Somali extremist organization that has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's transitional government.
In this image taken from a footage shot by Channel 7 and released via APTN, police stand near a doorway to a property as they lunched raids in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. Australian police launched a major anti-terrorism operation on Tuesday, arresting four men they said were suspected of plotting an attack in the country.
In this image taken from a footage shot by Channel 7 and released via APTN, Chief Commissioner of Victoria State Police Simon Overland, right, speaks as Australian Federal Police, acting commissioner Tony Negus looks on during a press conference in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. Australian police launched a major anti-terrorism operation on Tuesday, arresting four men they said were suspected of plotting an attack in the country.
In this image taken from a footage shot by Channel 7 and released via APTN, a property during overnight police raid is seen in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. Australian police launched a major anti-terrorism operation on Tuesday, arresting four men they said were suspected of plotting an attack in the country
In this image taken from a footage shot by Channel 7 and released via APTN, police move their bags and cases to a vehicle at side of a road as they lunched raids in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. Australian police launched a major anti-terrorism operation on Tuesday, arresting four men they said were suspected of plotting an attack in the country.
Police gather evidence at a house in a Melbourne suburb after a pre-dawn raid at 1 of 19 locations Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009, in Australia. Some 400 officers from state and national security services took part in 19 pre-dawn raids on properties in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city following a seven-month surveillance operation of a group of people allegedly linked to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked Somali extremist organization that has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's transitional government.
The four, all Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese descent, were arrested after 400 state and federal security officers raided 19 properties around the southern city of Melbourne before dawn. Several other people were also held and are being questioned.
The alleged plotters, aged between 22 and 26, are believed to be connected to al-Shabaab, a hardline Somali group linked to al-Qaida that has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's government.
Al-Shabaab is seeking to establish a hardline interpretation of Islamic law in Somalia. Its members have forced women to wear veils and have cut off limbs for theft. The group has claimed responsibility for several bombings and shootings in Mogadishu against Ethiopian troops and Somali government officials, and has killed journalists and international aid workers. Connections to taxi drivers in Australia and international connections to Al Qaida.
The suspects were caught on CCTV around , Holsworthy Barracks on the outskirts of Sydney was one of the group's potential targets, and surveillance had been carried out at other bases, he said, declining to identify them.
One of the suspects, Nayes El Sayad, was formally charged in Melbourne Magistrate's Court with conspiring to plan a terrorist attack, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Another suspect, Saney Aweys, also appeared in court, where police sought and were granted permission to detain him longer without charge for questioning.
Australian Federal Police Acting Commissioner Tony Negus said the raids followed a seven-month surveillance operation of a group of people with alleged ties to al-Shabaab, an Islamist organization based in that country's south that has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's transitional government.
Police sealed off several houses in Melbourne after the raids and were conducting intensive searches. Forensic officers in protective suits collected samples and searched at least one car parked in a driveway, while uniformed officers interviewed neighbors.
"This operation has disrupted an alleged terrorist attack that could have claimed many lives," he said.
Negus said the investigation had also found that some of the group had traveled to Somalia "to participate in hostilities" there.
Terrorist violence is extremely rare in Australia — a 1978 bombing near the Hilton Hotel that killed two is the best-known incident — and no attacks have been carried out on Australian soil since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. raised security threat levels worldwide.
The U.S. State Department says al-Shabaab has provided a safe haven to al-Qaida "elements" wanted for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The two groups have long been suspected of working together, but they have not announced a formal alliance. Al-Qaida has operations in North Africa, Yemen and Iraq.
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-Police foiled a suicide plot in Australia on Tuesday, arresting four men suspected of links to a Somali Islamic extremist group who were allegedly planning commando-style attacks on at least one army base, senior officers said.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the plot was a "sober reminder" that terrorists are still a threat to Australia, which has drawn the ire of extremist groups for sending troops to join the U.S.-led campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.-
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