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FOUR MEN ACCUSED of plotting to bring down a plane in Australia planned to use poisonous gas or a crude bomb disguised as a meat mincer according to local reports, with Australian officials calling preparations “advanced”.
The men – reportedly two Lebanese-Australian fathers and their sons – were arrested in raids across Sydney on Saturday evening.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph said the men allegedly planned to carry the device on board a commercial flight from Sydney to a Middle East destination as hand luggage.
It said the idea was to use wood scrapings and explosive material inside a piece of kitchen equipment such as a mincing machine.
The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that a mincer was being examined, while The Australian newspaper cited multiple sources as saying it was a “non-traditional” device that could have emitted a toxic sulphur-based gas.
This, it said, would have killed or immobilised everyone on the aircraft.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the plans were “advanced” but refused to comment on the conflicting claims over the method of attack.
“I have to respect the integrity of the investigations,” he said.
But I can say that certainly the police will allege they had the intent and were developing the capability.
There will obviously be more to say over coming days. It will be alleged that this was an Islamist, extremist terrorist motivation.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin yesterday said the aviation industry was potentially a target and that an improvised explosive device was involved.
Seamless cooperation
Justice Minister Michael Keenan this morning called the plans “quite sophisticated”.
“It was a plot to bring down an aircraft with the idea of smuggling a device on to it to enable them to do that,” he said.
A magistrate late last night gave police an additional seven days to detain the men, who have not been officially named, without charge.
Police continued to gather evidence today at the five homes raided, warning the investigation would be “very long and protracted”.
Previously, TV footage showed riot police moving on a terraced house in the inner-city suburb of Surry Hills, with a man with a bandage on his head being led away by authorities, draped in a blanket.
A woman at the address denied they had any link to terrorism.
Police reportedly acted after receiving information from an overseas intelligence agency, suggesting the men may have been directed by someone else.
Turnbull would not confirm this, but said “nowhere is far away from anywhere else these days”.
“In an age of the internet and the age of social media and the age of instant messaging applications, Syria is not a long way away from Sydney,” he said.
And so that’s the criticality of it – seamless cooperation.
Security has been strengthened at major domestic and international airports across Australia since the raids, with passengers asked to arrive early and to limit their baggage.
Australia’s national terror alert level was raised in September 2014 amid concerns over attacks by individuals inspired by organisations such as the Islamic State group.
Canberra has become so worried that it announced the creation of a super ministry this month combining its security agencies including the domestic spy service, border force and national police to better tackle terrorism.
A total of 12 attacks, before the latest one, have been prevented in the past few years, while 70 people have been charged.
Several terror attacks have taken place in Australia in recent years, including a Sydney cafe siege in 2014 that saw two hostages killed.
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Good start, now have the religious orders pay compensation.
@FiannaFáilness FineGaelness: by liquidating all their assets. All of them!
If the Pope is genuinely sorry he would order dioceses across the world to stop dragging their feet and stonewalling and fighting compensation cases. Very little has changed in the Catholic hierarchy in the last few decades except that they’ve gotten better at P. R.
@Gerry McCaughey: 100% if they cared so much the vaults of gold would be emptied in restitution. Words have no meaning. Action is needed.
@Gerry McCaughey: he isn’t genuinely sorry
@Gerry McCaughey: I could be wrong but I think he has asked for that but is getting stop at ever turn,same here in Ireland with bishop Martin, could be wrong but think they genuinely want change.
Unbelievably corrupt organisation.
Where was the Canadian Government? It abandoned the indigenous people and their rights as a colonial power. The State has much to apologise for as well.
@feargal de cantuin: this article is about the catholic church’s role. The state have apologized and have started reparations. Will possibly never be enough but the Pope had to make an apology on behalf on the festering moral cesspit that was his church in the 20th century and before.
Unreal what happened to the indigenous people. Very like tuam.
What a terrible read. Centuries of abuse the article says and they still want to accept the popes self-invitation to visit and repeat his hollow apologies. They should should be refusing to host him, demanding more financial compensation and questioning in what other territories is the Catholic Church committing similar crimes today?
“I ask for God’s forgiveness for the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church,” – Gods representative on earth asking God for forgiveness for the actions of hundreds of Gods followers!, ya couldn’t make it up.
No apologies are enough anymore. I know religion is a comfort to many people. The Catholic church is no longer part of that. They are inexcusable.
@Daftbit Jelly: If you go back to the first organised societies, especially to Sumeria 5000 years ago, it’s easy to see how what we think of as religion came about. It wasn’t until about 1700 years ago that the Romans weaponised mono-theism. Religion may be a comfort, the same way that a fix of heroin is to an addict, but look at the destruction both bring with them.
I’m indigenous Canadian, an adoptee from the era of the Sixties Scoop, another method of taking chuldren from their families and stripping them of their language, culture and heritage. Also supported by this church. I also have family members directly impacted by the abuse that went on in the schools. I’m not sure what to make of this apology. It doesn’t give back the silenced languages. It doesn’t revive dead customs and traditions. It doesn’t restore the lost history and knowledge. The apology doesn’t heal the trauma and pain of surviving this abuse. Or the grief for those who didn’t. It does nothing to staunch the epidemic of suicide amongst indigenous youth. For an apology to be sincere, it must involve action. Otherwise its just words. Meaningless words at that.
An apology,makes everything all better
@David Nolan: Nobody said that but even in our country you see people want apology,let’s take responsibility first and then we can take punishment.
@David Nolan: what should he do?
He apologised to people in Ireland as well but the church here still refuses to pay the agreed monies to the state for the redress paid out so apologies like that are meaningless.
have your say