SYDNEY: Australia has foiled an Islamist-inspired “terrorist plot” to bring down an airplane with an improvised explosive, authorities said Sunday, after four people were arrested in raids across Sydney.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the plot appeared to be “elaborate” rather than planned by a lone wolf, as security was beefed up at major domestic and international airports across the nation.
“I can report last night that there has been a major joint counter-terrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane,” Turnbull told reporters.
“The threat of terrorism is very real. The disruption operation, the efforts overnight have been very effective but there’s more work to do.”
Officials did not specify if the alleged plot involved a domestic or international flight, but Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported that a local route had been the objective.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin described the plot as “Islamic-inspired,” saying four men had been arrested in a series of raids across Sydney on Saturday.
“We do believe it is Islamic-inspired terrorism. Exactly what is behind this is something we need to investigate fully,” he said.
Colvin added that local authorities had received “credible information from partner agencies” about the claims but would not elaborate further or state if the men were on any watch list.
“In recent days, law enforcement has become aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an IED (improvised explosive device),” he told reporters.
He added that several items “of great interest to police” had been seized in the raids but police did not yet have a great deal of information on the specific attack, the location, date or time. He said the investigation was expected to be “very long and protracted.”
“However, we’re investigating information indicating the aviation industry was potentially a target of that attack.”
Colvin would not provide further details, but the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said police found items that could be used to make a homemade bomb in one of the raided homes Saturday.
Authorities believed they planned to smuggle the device onto a plane to blow it up, the ABC added.
Four men were arrested Saturday after armed police stormed homes in at least four neighborhoods, though their names and ages have not been released and they have not been charged by police.
The Seven Network reported 40 riot squad officers moved on a terraced house in the inner city suburb of Surry Hills, as TV footage showed a man with a bandage on his head being led away by authorities, draped in a blanket.
Sections of surrounding roads remained cordoned off on Sunday as forensic officers and investigators wrapped up and removed items from the house.
Airline passengers have meanwhile been asked to arrive at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international routes, and to limit their baggage.
“Australia has very strong safeguards in place at its airports; these changes are about making them even stronger,” Australian carrier Qantas said.
Airline Virgin Australia stressed that the additional airport security measures were just “precautionary” and passengers “should not be concerned.”
Turnbull said the national terror alert level, which was raised on September 2014 amid rising concerns over attacks by individuals inspired by organizations such as Daesh, would remain at probable.
Canberra has introduced new national security laws since then, while counter-terrorism police have also made a string of arrests.
A total of 12 attacks, before the latest announcement, have been prevented in the past few years, while 70 people have been charged, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said.
“The primary threat to Australia still remains lone actors, but there’s still the ability for people to have sophisticated plots and sophisticated attacks still remain a real threat,” he told reporters Sunday.
The prime minister added that the alleged plan appeared to be “more in that category of an elaborate plot.”
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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Australia foils ‘terror plot’ to bring down airplane
Australia foils ‘terror plot’ to bring down airplane
Teenage preacher to alleged mass killer: Bondi attack suspect’s background emerges
SYDNEY/MANILA: Standing in the rain outside a suburban Sydney train station, seventeen-year-old Naveed Akram stares into the camera and urges those watching to spread the word of Islam.
“Spread the message that Allah is One wherever you can ... whether it be raining, hailing or clear sky,” he said.
Another since-deleted video posted in 2019 by Street Dawah Movement, a Sydney-based Islamic community group, shows him urging two young boys to pray more frequently.
Authorities are now trying to piece together what happened in the intervening six years that led a teenager volunteering to hand out pamphlets for a non-violent community group to allegedly carry out Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.
Akram, who remains under heavy guard in hospital after being shot by police, was briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 for links to individuals connected to Islamic State, but authorities found he did not have extremist tendencies at the time.
“In the years that followed, that changed,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday.
Police have not formally identified Naveed Akram, 24, as one of the alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish event on a Sydney beach on Sunday. His father Sajid Akram, 50, is the other gunman who was shot and killed by police, local media reported.
Officials have said the second gunman is the deceased man’s son and is in a critical condition in hospital.
MOTIVATED BY DAESH
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday the attack was likely motivated by the ideology of Daesh, but that the two men appeared to have acted alone.
Homemade Daesh flags were found in the suspects’ car after Sunday’s attack, and police said on Tuesday the pair had last month visited the Philippines, where offshoots of the militant group have a presence.
A spokesperson for the Philippines Bureau of Immigration said Akram, an Australian national, arrived in the country on November 1 with his father, who was traveling on an Indian passport.
Both reported Davao as their final destination, the main city on Mindanao island, which has a history of Islamist insurgency. A months-long conflict on the island in 2017 between armed forces and two militant groups linked to IS left over a thousand dead and a million displaced, though the country’s military says these groups are now fragmented and weakened.
The pair left the Philippines on November 28, two weeks before Sunday’s attack using high-powered shotguns and rifles.
’NEVER DID ANYTHING UNUSUAL’
Local media reported that Akram, an unemployed bricklayer, attended high school in Cabramatta, a suburb around 30 kilometers by road from Sydney’s central business district and close to the family’s current home in Bonnyrigg, which was raided by police after the attacks.
“I could have never imagined in 100 years that this could be his doing,” former classmate Steven Luong told The Daily Mail.
“He was a very nice person. He never did anything unusual. He never even interrupted in class.”
After leaving school, Akram showed a keen interest in Islam, seeking tutoring and attending several Street Dawah Movement events. The group confirmed he appeared in the videos.
“We at Street Dawah Movement are horrified by his actions and we are appalled by his criminal behavior,” the group said in a statement, adding Akram had attended several events in 2019 but was not a member of the organization.
Months after the videos were posted, Akram approached tutor Adam Ismail seeking tuition in Arabic and the Qur'an, studying with him for a combined period of one year.
Ismail’s language institute posted a photo in 2022, since deleted, showing Akram smiling while holding a certificate in Qur'anic recitation.
“Not everyone who recites the Qur'an understands it or lives by its teachings, and sadly, this appears to be the case here,” Ismail said in a video statement late on Monday.
“I condemn this act of violence without hesitation.”
EARLIER TIES TO DAESH NOT PROVEN
Two of the people he was associated with in 2019 were charged and went to jail but Akram was not seen at that time to be a person of interest, Albanese said.
However he was radicalized, Akram’s journey from a teenager interested in Islam to one of Australia’s worst alleged killers has taken not just the public, but also law enforcement by surprise.
“We are very much working through the background of both persons,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters on Monday.
“At this stage, we know very little about them.”
“Spread the message that Allah is One wherever you can ... whether it be raining, hailing or clear sky,” he said.
Another since-deleted video posted in 2019 by Street Dawah Movement, a Sydney-based Islamic community group, shows him urging two young boys to pray more frequently.
Authorities are now trying to piece together what happened in the intervening six years that led a teenager volunteering to hand out pamphlets for a non-violent community group to allegedly carry out Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.
Akram, who remains under heavy guard in hospital after being shot by police, was briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 for links to individuals connected to Islamic State, but authorities found he did not have extremist tendencies at the time.
“In the years that followed, that changed,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday.
Police have not formally identified Naveed Akram, 24, as one of the alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish event on a Sydney beach on Sunday. His father Sajid Akram, 50, is the other gunman who was shot and killed by police, local media reported.
Officials have said the second gunman is the deceased man’s son and is in a critical condition in hospital.
MOTIVATED BY DAESH
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday the attack was likely motivated by the ideology of Daesh, but that the two men appeared to have acted alone.
Homemade Daesh flags were found in the suspects’ car after Sunday’s attack, and police said on Tuesday the pair had last month visited the Philippines, where offshoots of the militant group have a presence.
A spokesperson for the Philippines Bureau of Immigration said Akram, an Australian national, arrived in the country on November 1 with his father, who was traveling on an Indian passport.
Both reported Davao as their final destination, the main city on Mindanao island, which has a history of Islamist insurgency. A months-long conflict on the island in 2017 between armed forces and two militant groups linked to IS left over a thousand dead and a million displaced, though the country’s military says these groups are now fragmented and weakened.
The pair left the Philippines on November 28, two weeks before Sunday’s attack using high-powered shotguns and rifles.
’NEVER DID ANYTHING UNUSUAL’
Local media reported that Akram, an unemployed bricklayer, attended high school in Cabramatta, a suburb around 30 kilometers by road from Sydney’s central business district and close to the family’s current home in Bonnyrigg, which was raided by police after the attacks.
“I could have never imagined in 100 years that this could be his doing,” former classmate Steven Luong told The Daily Mail.
“He was a very nice person. He never did anything unusual. He never even interrupted in class.”
After leaving school, Akram showed a keen interest in Islam, seeking tutoring and attending several Street Dawah Movement events. The group confirmed he appeared in the videos.
“We at Street Dawah Movement are horrified by his actions and we are appalled by his criminal behavior,” the group said in a statement, adding Akram had attended several events in 2019 but was not a member of the organization.
Months after the videos were posted, Akram approached tutor Adam Ismail seeking tuition in Arabic and the Qur'an, studying with him for a combined period of one year.
Ismail’s language institute posted a photo in 2022, since deleted, showing Akram smiling while holding a certificate in Qur'anic recitation.
“Not everyone who recites the Qur'an understands it or lives by its teachings, and sadly, this appears to be the case here,” Ismail said in a video statement late on Monday.
“I condemn this act of violence without hesitation.”
EARLIER TIES TO DAESH NOT PROVEN
Two of the people he was associated with in 2019 were charged and went to jail but Akram was not seen at that time to be a person of interest, Albanese said.
However he was radicalized, Akram’s journey from a teenager interested in Islam to one of Australia’s worst alleged killers has taken not just the public, but also law enforcement by surprise.
“We are very much working through the background of both persons,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters on Monday.
“At this stage, we know very little about them.”
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