Sydney ‘bomb plotters’ may have already tried to smuggle device onto international flight
The men detained in counter-terrorism raids on the weekend may have already made an attempt to smuggle their homemade bomb onto an international flight prior to raids, law enforcement officials said.
The men may have then developed an alternate plan after that failed attempt and tried to get the device onto a domestic flight.
“We have a quite sophisticated terrorist conspiracy, in contrast to several of the more lowtech unsophisticated conspiracies which have been thwarted in Australia in recent times,” security expert Neil Fergus said. Behind the plot are a small group of Sydney men with deep connections to Islamic State (IS). The apparent instigator of the plot is Khaled Khayat, whose brother is believed to be a senior fighter with IS in Syria. Khaled Khayat’s son, Mahmoud Kayat, is also being held by police. The other two men arrested, Abdul El Karim and Khaled Merhi, are related to Ahmed Merhi, who travelled to Syria in 2014 and is fighting for IS. “These networks, whether they’re familial or otherwise, are very important,” said Jacinta Carroll, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s counter-terrorism policy. “That’s why Australia and other countries have been so concerned about preventing the travel of their own individuals as foreign fighters.”
In a Facebook post, Ahmed Mehri called on Muslims to undertake suicide attacks, known as istishhadi. “You must continue with istishhadi operations for, by Allah, it is very effective poison against the enemy’s [sic] of Allah.”
Tip-off came from overseas
The conspiracy to smuggle the bomb onto a flight, hidden in a meat grinder, was only uncovered when a foreign intelligence agency intercepted communications to the conspirators from Syria.
“They have made this disruption only three
days after hearing a tip-off, presumably from a partner agency overseas, that attack-planning by this cell was imminent,” Ms Carroll said.
ABC has learned Police hoped to gather more evidence before arresting the men, but the British government declared they would issue a public security alert for Australian travel if the raids did not happen promptly. ABC