AUSTRALIAN POLICE were questioning four men last night about an alleged terrorist suicide conspiracy to attack a Sydney army barracks. The arrests of the four, who police said were linked to a Somali militant group, came after a seven-month counterterrorism operation involving 400 officers and police raids across Melbourne yesterday.
Holsworthy Barracks, the alleged target, is home to thousands of soldiers and a major anti-terrorist unit. It covers a large area of southwest Sydney and is close to a nuclear reactor.
Melbourne magistrates court heard that some of the suspects discussed obtaining an Islamic religious ruling to authorise an attack. One of the suspects, Nayef El Sayed, has been charged with “conspiring to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act”.
Mr El Sayed refused to stand when asked to by magistrate Peter Reardon. His lawyer, Anthony Brand, said Mr El Sayed would stand for no man, only for God, according to his religious beliefs.
He was remanded in custody to reappear on October 26th.
The police believe there was a conspiracy to kill as many Australian military personnel as possible. Senior counsel Nick Robinson said the men intended to keep shooting until they were killed or arrested. He agreed with Mr Reardon that their intention was to become martyrs.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer David Kinton told the court that telephone intercepts had recorded text messages exchanged about the Holsworthy base. One text allegedly said: “I stalked around. It is easy to enter.”
CCTV footage allegedly shows one of the accused arriving at Holsworthy on March 28th. Mr Kinton said one of the intercepted telephone discussions involved a man believed to be engaged in conflict in Somalia.
The court also allowed the AFP to question three other suspects who have not been charged. Another suspect is being held on other matters. In granting the application, Mr Reardon said terrorist acts “strike at the heart of our democratic society” and he would allow the questioning of “such serious allegations” to continue.
Prime minister Kevin Rudd said Australia will not be increasing its terror alert level, but that this is a strong reminder of the security threats facing the country. “The threat of terrorism is alive and well and this requires continued vigilance,” he said.
Yesterday’s arrests followed 19 raids across Melbourne and regional Victoria. The AFP’s acting chief commissioner Tony Negus said the operation was the result of seven months’ work and that more arrests are possible.
“There are further inquiries being conducted both in Australia and overseas,” he said.
Shereen Hassan, vice-president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said Muslims have been shocked by the raids and urged people not to seek retaliation. “We have faith that the overwhelming majority of Australians will not react in this way and remain calm,” she said.
“[We] urge the wider community and the media to respect the privacy of the families concerned. The overwhelming majority of Australian Muslims unequivocally condemn all forms of terrorism.”
Mohamed Baaruud from the Somalia Advocacy Action Group said the community is shocked that some Somali Australians are implicated. “This is the last thing we were expecting. Our community came to Australia about 17 years ago when the civil war started in Somalia and it took us a long time to recover from the trauma that we have experienced in our country of origin and start a new life here in Australia.”
Victorian police are also investigating the Australian newspaper for publishing details of the raids about the time they were occurring. But the Australian says the story ran only in editions available after the raids.
