Police dig at property of Isis suspect
A New South Wales electrician facing life in prison will spend at least the next week behind bars after he was arrested for allegedly aiding Isis (Islamic State) to develop “high-tech weapons capability”.
Haisem Zahab, 42, was arrested at his house in Young in southern NSW on Tuesday and charged with two counts of foreign incursion and recruitment, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Police were yesterday digging up Zahab’s backyard after he allegedly accessed significant amounts of information online about what materials he could buy to build a missile and a laser warning device as well as instructions on how to construct it.
“We will also allege that he has been researching, designing and modelling systems to assist Isil’s efforts to develop their own longrange guided missile capabilities,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin told reporters in Canberra, using another acronym for the group.
He was arrested after an 18-month investigation but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said there was no planned domestic attack or threat to the community.
“This highlights that terrorism, support for terrorist groups, and Islamist extremism is not limited to our major cities,” he said.
Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the number of Australians joining the conflict zone was concerning.
“Our agencies have stopped 12 domestic terror attacks in Australia. Australians have been very susceptible to being targeted,” he told the ABC.
“It’s still a small number of people in terms of the wider Islamic community in Australia but enough for us to be concerned.”
Zahab, an Australian-born citizen, is next due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on March 8. Mount Etna has erupted in a fiery show of lava in eastern Sicily. The volcano's latest eruptions, which can last days and even weeks, began on Tuesday. The giant orange fountains of lava could be seen in the city of Catania and the resort town of Taormina. Although volcanic ash clouds can cause flight disruptions, the nearby Catania airport was operating normally. Authorities reported no danger to the towns that dot the mountain's slopes.