OZ TERROR PLOT: MAN PLANTED A BOMB ON HIS OWN BROTHER

An Australian man sent his unsuspecting brother to Sydney airport to catch an Etihad Airways flight carrying a homemade bomb disguised as a meatmincer built at the direction of a senior Islamic State commander, police said on Friday.

Detailing one of Australia’s “most sophisticated” militant plots, police said two men, who have been charged with terrorrelated offences, also planned to build a device to release poisonous gas in a public area.

High-grade military explosives used to build the bomb were sent by air cargo from Turkey as part of a plot “inspired and directed” by the militant Islamic State group, police Deputy Commissioner National Security Michael Phelan said.

The plot targeted an Etihad Airways flight on July 15 but the bomb never made it past airport security, he said.

“This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil,” Phelan said.

Police allege that one of the two men charged late on Thursday had been introduced to Islamic State by his brother, who they said was a senior member of the group in Syria. Communication between the accused man and Islamic State began around April.

Under the instruction of the unidentified Islamic State commander, the men built a “fully functioning IED (improvised explosive device).” One of the brothers was unaware he was carrying a bomb disguised as a commercial meat mincer in his luggage, and tried to check it in at the airport, police said.