The art of Jihad in Islam

[El-Basha]

The art of Jihad .... Australia Part II

Four arrests in terror raids

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The Australian news.... August 04, 2009

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JOINT counter terrorism raids, the result of a seven-month surveillance operation, has led to four arrests, Australian Federal Police acting Chief Commissioner Tony Negus said today.
Terrorists were planning a suicide mission involving semi-automatic weapons on an Australian miliary base, he said.
The four people arrested, all Australian citizens, are being interviewed and several others are assisting with inquiries.
Police are currently interviewing a 26-year-old Carlton man, a 25-year-old Preston man, a 25-year-old man from Glenroy and a 22-year-old man from Meadow Heights..
The raids involved the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Victoria Police, NSW Police, the NSW Crime Commission and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
Despite the operation, Mr Negus said national security levels remained at medium.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said search warrants issued across Melbourne and at Colac in the state's south-west may take 24 hours to complete.
Mr Overland stressed the overwhelming number of Islamic people in Australia and Melbourne were valued members of the community, not terrorists.
He said he was disappointed by leaks that lead to reporting of the raids in The Australian newspaper.
Copies of the newspaper were publicly available at 1.30am (AEST) in Melbourne, well ahead of the raids, he said.
Mr Overland said police acted after it "got to a point where we decided it was appropriate to act".
Mr Negus said there could be further arrests, other than four people in custody.
He confirmed the Holsworthy Base in Sydney was an alleged target, as well as "suspicious activity around other bases".
Mr Negus said the allegations related specifically to an attack with arms, not bombs.
"We believe these men were affiliated with a group called al-Shabaab in Somalia," he said.
On the raids, Mr Negus said: "We were satisfied the timing was right - obviously the primary concern is public safety."
He stressed the police information at this stage was only a series of allegations that needed to be tested in court.
Mr Negus said, however, if the alleged plot had been carried out, it would have been the most serious terrorist act ever on Australian soil.
About 400 police were used to execute 19 search warrants about 4.30am (AEST) on Tuesday.
Homes in the northern Melbourne suburbs of Glenroy, Meadow Heights, Roxburgh Park,
Broadmeadows, Westmeadows, Preston and Epping were raided by police, as well as at Carlton in inner Melbourne and Colac in south-western Victoria.