Beheading plot foiled:
A SERIES of anti-terrorism raids were sparked by intelligence reports that Islamic State was planning a public execution in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
Details of the planned attack have emerged in the wake of the biggest anti-terrorism operation in Australias history, involving hundreds of police officers in co-ordinated raids across Sydney and Brisbane this morning.
Mr Abbott was briefed on the police raid on Wednesday night, which included intelligence that public beheadings were planned. The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country, he told reporters.
So this is not just suspicion, this is intent and thats why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have.
Police believe a group of Sydney men were planning to seize a random member of the public and behead their victim, while filming the attack, sources say.
Fifteen people have been arrested in Sydney so far, although the operation is ongoing, with at least one man due in court today to face terrorism-related charges.
Australian Federal Police said the suspected terrorists were planning violent acts here in Australia although they refused to confirm these included potential beheadings. They said full details of the allegations would be revealed later in the day in court.
AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin said: Police believe that this group that we have executed this operation today had the intention and had started to carry out planning to commit violent acts here in Australia. Those violent acts particularly related to random acts against members of the public.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the allegations would relate to serious violence against a random member of the public here on the streets of NSW.
What we can indicate is the violence was to be perpetrated on a member of the public on the streets and certainly at this stage was at a very high level.
Fifteen people have been detained, including one charged with serious terrorism offences. He will appear in court later today, where more facts will become more clear, Mr Scipione said.
Those facts would include any suspected links between the charged man and the Islamic State terrorist group, he said.
Police Some of those taken into custody had already had their passports cancelled.
Mr Scipione said reasonable force was used to detain one man. Todays operation reflects the reality of the threat that we actually face, he said.
Mr Scipione said random attacks were planned.
All of those plans that may have been on foot are thwarted, he said.
In Brisbanes south three houses were raided this morning as part of a probe that last week saw two men charged with terrorism-related offences.
Counterterrorism teams and sniffer dogs were involved in the raids in Mt Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood, with cars and homes searched.
No arrests have been made in Brisbane, but police said the operation was a continuation of the one in which Omar Succarieh the 31-year-old owner of an Islamic centre and 21-year-old Agim Kruezi were arrested last week.
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the Brisbane raids were carried out in conjunction with those that occurred in northwest Sydney that has seen 15 arrested and one man charged.
Outside a two-storey brick home in Mt Gravatt East raided this morning, neighbours said a large family had been living there for more than 20 years.
In contrast to the raids in northwest Sydney, neighbours of that home and around a newly-built townhouse in Underwood where investigators remain said they heard little noise when police arrived early this morning.
AFP and Queensland Police also searched a fibro house in Logan.
Mr Colvin said about 800 officers had executed 25 search warrants across Sydney comprising investigators, forensic experts, tactical specialists and surveillance officers in the largest operation of its kind in Australian history.
A further 70 officers were involved in raids in Queensland following up the raids at Logan, in Brisbanes south, last week. Police were investigating linkages between the NSW and Queensland suspected terror cells.
Mr Scipione urged calm, saying police would launch a separate Operation Hammerhead with 220 highly visible officers to clamp down on people who may want to take retribution or in fact create trauma within communities.
The raids come less than a week after ASIO raised the threat level of a terror attack from medium to high, meaning an attack is considered likely.
They also come a week after The Australian reported that ASIO now believes there are a handful of Islamic extremists who have what has been termed a settled intention to conduct an attack here in Australia.
Authorities have been conducting surveillance on people linked to the terrorist group Islamic State, which has been cutting a barbaric path through Iraq and Syria.
In Sydney, police said a number of people have been arrested and houses raided in Beecroft, Bella Vista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Regents Park and Bass Hill.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison applauded the incredibly good work of 600 police and intelligence personnel in conducting the raids.
We are dealing with something that is very real here, Mr Morrison, a member of the National Security Committee of Cabinet, told ABC Radio. The government knows that, were responding accordingly and anyone who has information on any matters should call that 1800 123 400 number to report anything,
The scale of what were seeing in this ongoing operation this morning the 600 people, officers involved I think demonstrates the very real threat thats there and the incredibly good work that is being done by our agencies.
Mr Morrison said the raids supported the governments decision to spend $630 million boosting domestic security and support the US-led intervention against jihadists in Iraq.
Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said the opposition had not been briefed on the raids ahead of time.
There are about 60 Australians believed to be fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State, while another 100 are suspected of providing support from Australia.
The raids also come a day after a Sydney-based money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of convicted Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was shut down amid concerns it was being used to funnel funds to the Middle East to finance terrorism.
The Lakemba remittance provider, Bisotel Rieh Pty Ltd, owned by Damour Sharrouf and her husband Ahmed Alwash, was suspended after they could not account for millions of dollars transferred to Turkey and Lebanon.
A man is arrested after raids in Guildford.
Guildford Terror raids arrest. In Sydney, Officers from the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police, as well as other security agencies including ASIO, have targeted properties in 12 suburbs across the citys north-west.
source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...062160671?nk=4faeb5389012131c1347eeafaaab2726
A SERIES of anti-terrorism raids were sparked by intelligence reports that Islamic State was planning a public execution in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
Details of the planned attack have emerged in the wake of the biggest anti-terrorism operation in Australias history, involving hundreds of police officers in co-ordinated raids across Sydney and Brisbane this morning.
Mr Abbott was briefed on the police raid on Wednesday night, which included intelligence that public beheadings were planned. The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country, he told reporters.
So this is not just suspicion, this is intent and thats why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have.
Police believe a group of Sydney men were planning to seize a random member of the public and behead their victim, while filming the attack, sources say.
Fifteen people have been arrested in Sydney so far, although the operation is ongoing, with at least one man due in court today to face terrorism-related charges.
Australian Federal Police said the suspected terrorists were planning violent acts here in Australia although they refused to confirm these included potential beheadings. They said full details of the allegations would be revealed later in the day in court.
AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin said: Police believe that this group that we have executed this operation today had the intention and had started to carry out planning to commit violent acts here in Australia. Those violent acts particularly related to random acts against members of the public.
Follow Police will allege suspects were planning an act of violence against a random individual. Decline to confirm if plan was a beheading. 8:06 PM - 17 Sep 2014 10 RETWEETS 1 FAVORITE |
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the allegations would relate to serious violence against a random member of the public here on the streets of NSW.
What we can indicate is the violence was to be perpetrated on a member of the public on the streets and certainly at this stage was at a very high level.
Fifteen people have been detained, including one charged with serious terrorism offences. He will appear in court later today, where more facts will become more clear, Mr Scipione said.
Those facts would include any suspected links between the charged man and the Islamic State terrorist group, he said.
Police Some of those taken into custody had already had their passports cancelled.
Mr Scipione said reasonable force was used to detain one man. Todays operation reflects the reality of the threat that we actually face, he said.
Mr Scipione said random attacks were planned.
All of those plans that may have been on foot are thwarted, he said.
In Brisbanes south three houses were raided this morning as part of a probe that last week saw two men charged with terrorism-related offences.
Counterterrorism teams and sniffer dogs were involved in the raids in Mt Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood, with cars and homes searched.
No arrests have been made in Brisbane, but police said the operation was a continuation of the one in which Omar Succarieh the 31-year-old owner of an Islamic centre and 21-year-old Agim Kruezi were arrested last week.
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the Brisbane raids were carried out in conjunction with those that occurred in northwest Sydney that has seen 15 arrested and one man charged.
Outside a two-storey brick home in Mt Gravatt East raided this morning, neighbours said a large family had been living there for more than 20 years.
In contrast to the raids in northwest Sydney, neighbours of that home and around a newly-built townhouse in Underwood where investigators remain said they heard little noise when police arrived early this morning.
AFP and Queensland Police also searched a fibro house in Logan.
Mr Colvin said about 800 officers had executed 25 search warrants across Sydney comprising investigators, forensic experts, tactical specialists and surveillance officers in the largest operation of its kind in Australian history.
A further 70 officers were involved in raids in Queensland following up the raids at Logan, in Brisbanes south, last week. Police were investigating linkages between the NSW and Queensland suspected terror cells.
Mr Scipione urged calm, saying police would launch a separate Operation Hammerhead with 220 highly visible officers to clamp down on people who may want to take retribution or in fact create trauma within communities.
The raids come less than a week after ASIO raised the threat level of a terror attack from medium to high, meaning an attack is considered likely.
They also come a week after The Australian reported that ASIO now believes there are a handful of Islamic extremists who have what has been termed a settled intention to conduct an attack here in Australia.
Authorities have been conducting surveillance on people linked to the terrorist group Islamic State, which has been cutting a barbaric path through Iraq and Syria.
In Sydney, police said a number of people have been arrested and houses raided in Beecroft, Bella Vista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Regents Park and Bass Hill.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison applauded the incredibly good work of 600 police and intelligence personnel in conducting the raids.
We are dealing with something that is very real here, Mr Morrison, a member of the National Security Committee of Cabinet, told ABC Radio. The government knows that, were responding accordingly and anyone who has information on any matters should call that 1800 123 400 number to report anything,
The scale of what were seeing in this ongoing operation this morning the 600 people, officers involved I think demonstrates the very real threat thats there and the incredibly good work that is being done by our agencies.
Mr Morrison said the raids supported the governments decision to spend $630 million boosting domestic security and support the US-led intervention against jihadists in Iraq.
Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said the opposition had not been briefed on the raids ahead of time.
There are about 60 Australians believed to be fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State, while another 100 are suspected of providing support from Australia.
The raids also come a day after a Sydney-based money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of convicted Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was shut down amid concerns it was being used to funnel funds to the Middle East to finance terrorism.
The Lakemba remittance provider, Bisotel Rieh Pty Ltd, owned by Damour Sharrouf and her husband Ahmed Alwash, was suspended after they could not account for millions of dollars transferred to Turkey and Lebanon.
A man is arrested after raids in Guildford.
Guildford Terror raids arrest. In Sydney, Officers from the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police, as well as other security agencies including ASIO, have targeted properties in 12 suburbs across the citys north-west.
source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...062160671?nk=4faeb5389012131c1347eeafaaab2726
