Police Break Up Somali Islamists Terror Plot In Australia

A plot by Islamic extremists in Melbourne to launch a suicide attack on an Australian Army base has been uncovered by national security agencies.

Four men all Australian citizens were arrested this morning as federal and state police, armed with search warrants, swooped on members of the suspected terror cell this morning in the second-largest counter-terrorism operation in the nation’s history.

Those arrested included a 26-year-old Carlton man, a 25-year-old Preston man, a 25-year-old Glenroy man and a man, 22, from Meadow Heights

About 400 police raided homes in the northern Melbourne suburbs of Glenroy, Meadow Heights, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Westmeadows, Preston and Epping. They also raided homes at Carlton in inner Melbourne and Colac in southwestern Victoria.

“Police believe members of a Melbourne-based group have been undertaking planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia and allegedly involved in hostilities in Somalia,” a joint police statement said.

The men are expected to be charged with a range of terrorism-related offences.

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WHO Declaration of Swine Flu Pandemic Looks Imminent

H1N1’s swift spread in Australia may meet criteria for full alert, agency says.

A surge in cases of H1N1 swine flu in Australia may tip the balance and cause the World Health Organization to soon declare the first flu pandemic since 1968, agency officials said Tuesday.

Cases in Australia rose by more than 1,000 on Monday, with most occurring in the southern state of Victoria. Rapid spread of the virus in a region beyond North America has been considered a key factor in labeling the outbreak a pandemic.
WHO calls emergency meeting, H1N1 outbreak now affects 74 countries.

“We are getting really very close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation,” WHO influenza chief Keiji Fukuda said in Geneva.

He said the agency was concerned about the possible “adverse effects” of moving the alert from its current status of phase 5 to the highest level, phase 6, indicating a full pandemic, the Associated Press reported. Fukuda cited concerns over possible panic among the public or inappropriate steps taken by governments.

However, “on the surface of it, I think we are in phase 6,” said Margaret Chan, the WHO’s director-general. According to Chan, it is crucial to verify that H1N1 has become established beyond North America before a pandemic is declared. “Once I get indisputable evidence, I will make the announcement,” she said Tuesday.

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A New Type of Biker Gang In Australia

They call themselves MBM – the Muslim Brotherhood Movement – a gang of 600 men who boast they are the toughest and best young street fighters of Middle Eastern descent in Sydney.

MBM claims to be the biggest of four new gangs to emerge on Sydney streets in the past year. Its numbers rival those of the state’s largest biker gang, the Rebels.

The sudden appearance of MBM, with its growing membership recruited predominantly from the city’s south-western suburbs, has alarmed senior police already battling to combat open warfare among outlaw motorbike gangs.

Even hardened private security guards have expressed concern to police about the indiscriminate “punch and run” tactics of MBM members who, in the past two weeks, have arrived in large numbers at city nightclub venues and who walk the streets in intimidating mobs. But the objectives of MBM – its emblem features two crossed pistols and a hand grenade – and its leadership remain unclear to officers of both the Organised Crime and Gang Squad and Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.

Police say that a fortnight ago MBM members embarked upon a campaign of random assaults on men who crossed the path of a mob of about 100 toughs stalking Darlinghurst and Kings Cross during the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

A week ago about 30 MBM members intimidated private security guards at government car auctions at Smithfield.

The emergence of MBM also coincides with the rise of two other urban Sydney gangs – the Parra Boyz or Asesinoz MC and Brothers For Life or BFL.

Police say BFL – with a logo featuring crossed machine-guns – is not dissimilar to MBM in its extremist views, but membership numbers are unknown. Police describe Asesinoz, comprising teenagers of Middle Eastern decent, as “tough kids” who use the video-sharing website YouTube to promote Islamic extremism and anti-Australian actions such as flag burning.

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Bikers Brawl In Australian Airport; 1 dead

A man has been bludgeoned to death by a group of Australian motorcycle gang members in full view of dozens of people at Sydney airport.

Witnesses described bikers swinging poles “like swords” at each other’s heads as the brawl spilled over two floors of Sydney’s domestic terminal.

Four suspects have been arrested and the others are said to have fled.

Police believe the fight broke out when one group of bikers coming off a plane was ambushed by a rival gang.

Police did not name any gangs thought to be involved, but Australian media reported that the brawl, on Sunday afternoon, was between the Hell’s Angels and Comancheros gangs.

A 28-year-old man died in hospital from severe head injuries.

Police said about 15 gang members were involved in the fight, which was witnessed by about 50 people.

‘Group of cowards’

Witnesses described how the gang used the metal bollards in the check-in area as weapons.

“They started grabbing the metal poles that break up the check-in area and swinging them almost like swords at each other’s heads,” Naomi Constantine told Australia’s ABC news.

“I saw one of the men lying on the ground and another man came up with a pole and just started smashing it into his head.”

Local police chief Peter Williams called the attack a “disgraceful act perpetrated by a group of cowards”.

“A group of males have exited a plane and they were met by another group of males who we believe may be other motorcycle gang members,” Detective Inspector Williams told reporters.

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Australian Wildfires Could Fuel ‘Forest Jihad’ Terrorists, Experts Say

Firefighters and homeowners aren’t the only ones keenly watching Australia’s massive wildfires, responsible for killing at least 173 people in the southern part of the continent.

Terrorism experts suspect Muslim extremists are watching closely, too — and taking note of the devastation.

While Australian authorities have revealed no evidence linking the wildfires to extremists, terrorism experts say the large death toll, the huge swath of destruction and the massive financial blow to the country are proving to Islamic terrorists that arson can be a highly effective — and simple — tool of holy war.

In November, an extremist Web site called on Muslims to launch a “forest jihad” in Australia, Europe, Russia and the United States. The posting, which quoted imprisoned Al Qaeda terrorist Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, said setting forest fires was legal under “eye-for-an-eye” Islamic law.

“Scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels’ forests when they do the same to our lands,” the posting read.

The author of the posting indicated that Nasar — also known as Abu Musab Al-Suri — was urging terrorists to use sulfuric acid or gasoline to start the fires.

“Forest fires track well with the latest discussion trends seen in the Al Qaeda forums — easy to do, big impact, low security risk, high media coverage,” said Al Qaeda expert Jarret Brachman.

“We’ve seen these kinds of appeals for action, be it setting fire to forests in Australia, to creating oil slicks on mountain roads in Europe, to poisoning water supplies and driving buses off bridges in the United States.

“The fact is that the Al Qaeda ideology is starting to branch out to more of an ‘anyone, anywhere, anytime, anyhow’ approach.”

Brachman, author of “Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice,” said “forest jihad” fits well in the growing interest among terrorists to establish “Al Qaeda armies of one.”

“Could [militants] do this? Yes,” said Steve Emerson, executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism. “It wouldn’t be difficult, in the same way that terrorists could poison stored food supplies.”

Perhaps more troubling, Emerson said, is that there is very little authorities can do to prevent terrorists from setting deadly wildfires.

“It would be absolutely impossible to protect against,” he said. “Airport parameters are hard enough to protect. Imagine trying to protect something 100,000 times as big.”

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We first posted on this threat in August of 2007

Pyro-Terror: Are Greek Wildfires An Act Of Terrorism – Story Link

A top prosecutor ordered an investigation Monday into whether recent arson attacks in Greek forests could be considered terrorism, the Public Order Ministry said.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out on the fringes of Athens a day after a massive effort prevented the birthplace of the Olympics from being devastated by flames.

Dimitris Papangelopoulos, who is responsible for prosecuting terrorism and organized crime, ordered the investigation to determine “whether the crimes of arsonists and of arson attacks on forests” could come under Greece’s anti-terrorism law, the ministry said in a statement.

The probe also will seek to establish the identities of the alleged perpetrators.

Could it happen here?

The threat of similar pyro-terrorist attacks pose a significant risk to the U.S. and the fires in Greece should be a wake-up call.

In 2003 an FBI memo alerted law enforcement agencies that an al-Qaeda terrorist being held in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.

Terror Group Urges Forest Fire Jihad – Story Link

The threat of a forest fire jihad has been made on numerous occasions. This story is again another reminder to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity.

Australia  has been singled out as a target for “forest jihad” by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.

US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to “start forest fires”, claiming “scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels’ forests when they do the same to our lands”.

The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the “eye for an eye” doctrine.

The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember “forest jihad” in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that “this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time”.

Forest Fire Jihad Being Threatened On Terrorist Websites – Story Link

U.S. officials monitoring terrorist web sites have discovered a call for using forest fires as weapons against “crusader” nations, in what may explain some recent wildfires in places like southern California and Greece.

A terrorist website was discovered recently that carried a posting that called for “Forest Jihad.” The posting was listed on the Internet on Nov. 26 and reported in U.S. intelligence channels last week.

The statement, in Arabic, said that “summer has begun so do not forget the Forest Jihad.”
The writer called on all Muslims in the United States, Europe, Russia and Australia to “start forest fires.”

The posting quoted imprisoned Al Qaida terrorist Abu Musab Al-Suri, as saying “Jihad is an art just like poetry, music, and the fine arts. There are people that draw and there are others that are jihadists. They both act upon inspiration.”

Australia Extremists Accused Of Planning Violent Jihad

Five Muslim extremists planned terrorist acts in Australia in pursuit of “violent jihad” because they believed Islam was under attack worldwide, a court heard as their trial began Tuesday.

The Sydney men obtained or sought weapons and explosive materials and possessed extremist material venerating the work of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, prosecutor Richard Maidment told a Supreme Court jury.

He said the evidence would show the men were working together between July 2004 and their arrest in November 2005 “to prepare for the commission of one or more terrorist acts in Australia.”

The accused — Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan and Mohammed Omar Jamal — have pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, the men — aged from 24 to 43 — face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Raids on their homes found “large quantities of literature which supported indiscriminate killing, mass murder and martyrdom in pursuit of violent jihad,” Maidment said.

They had pictures and videos showing the hijacked aircraft smashing into the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, as well as beheadings and death on the battlefield, he said.

Maidment described all five as devout Muslims who believed Islam was under attack throughout the world and that there was a religious obligation to come to its defence.

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Three Bali Bombers Have Been Executed

UPDATE: Three Bali bombers have been executed by firing squad on their prison island in Indonesia, according to television station TV One.

Islamic militants Mukhlas, his younger brother Amrozi, and Imam Samudra were put to death for their lead roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

The attacks killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Hundreds more were injured when bombs tore through the crowded Sari Club and nearby Paddy’s Bar on October 12, 2002.

The bombers were put to death on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java. The island is home to the prison where they spent their last years.

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Al Jazeera has learnt that the three men sentenced to die for their role in the Bali bombings will be executed in the coming hours.

The twin bomb attacks on the island in October 2002 killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

Barring a last minute change by the authorities, the executions will be carried out early on Friday morning at a prison island off the coast of Java.

The executions are a highly sensitive issue in Indonesia, with supporters of the men vowing to carry out revenge attacks if they are put to death.

Indonesian police have stepped up security across the country amid fears that the execution could spark fresh bombings.

On the island of Bali, police bomb squads have conducted thorough searches around the site of the bomb memorial and elsewhere in Kuta, one of the island’s main tourist areas and scene of the attack.

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Bali Bombers Face Execution In 2 Weeks – Talk To CNN

The execution of three Muslim militants convicted for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings will be conducted “early in November,” a spokesman for the Indonesian attorney general’s office said on Friday.

The three – Imam Samudra, Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas and the “smiling assassin” Amrozi – have been on death row since 2003, when a Bali court sentenced them to death for their roles in the Oct 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign visitors.

None of the three has shown any remorse for the attacks.

The plan to execute Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron will be conducted in early November 2008,” Jasman Panjaitan, spokesman for the attorney general’s office told a press conference.

Panjaitan did not specify an exact date or time for the execution, but said the execution can be carried out as the three men are running out of legal options. He also said that the three condemned militants have refused to file an appeal for clemency from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“All legal avenues for death-row convicts Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra have ended and all legal requirements have been fulfilled,” Pandjaitan said.

Under Indonesian law a convict can ask for clemency from the president after legal appeals have been rejected by courts at all levels.

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected arguments by the three men’s attorneys that executions by firing squad were cruel and inhumane. The court argued that the alternatives also were painful.
Imam Samudra, Amrozi, known also as the “smiling assassin” and Mukhlas are being held in a maximum-security jail on Nusakambangan island, off the southern coast of central Java.

The three were members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a regional terrorist network responsible for several bombings across Indonesia.

These include simultaneous church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000, bombings on Bali in 2002 and 2005, the bombing of a JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2004 and an attack on the Australian Embassy in 2005.

Executions in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad at undisclosed locations in the dead of night. Prisoners are normally notified at least 72 hours before they are shot.

CNN Interview with Bali Bombers

Australia Warns Of High Risk of Terror Attacks On US flights

Australia on Sunday warned of a “high risk” of terror attacks on domestic and international flights in and to the United States, urging citizens to be vigilant while in the country.

“We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in the United States because of the risk of terrorism,” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a travel advisory. Read more