Breaking News! Australia detains terror suspects...

[abuhannah]

May Allah Aid the muslimeen,ameen....

Australian police have made a series of arrests in Melbourne after uncovering a plot to attack an army base, local media reports say.

Police said the group was believed to be at an "advanced stage" of preparing to storm an army base in Sydney.

More than 400 officers were involved in carrying out 19 search warrants, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Those arrested are reported to include Australian nationals of Somali and Lebanese descent, reports say.

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Australia detains terror suspects

[Aseerun]

There's been a lot of raids this morning, Allaahul musta'aan..some families are surely known!! Please make duaa for the brothers and their families inshaa Allaah.

Also, remember we don't know the true story till we hear from the people directly or their families. The word of a Muslim is more worthy to us than a disbeliever.

Allaahumma fukka qayda asrana wa asral Muslimeen.

-------------
Here's some more detailed news:

4th of August

Source

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

Federal and state police, armed with search warrants, swooped on members of the suspected terror cell this morning, as they seek to arrest Australian nationals of Somali and Lebanese background in what will be the second-largest counter-terrorism operation in the nation's history.

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

Authorities believe the group is at an advanced stage of preparing to storm an Australian Army base, using automatic weapons, as punishment for Australia's military involvement in Muslim countries. It is understood the men plan to kill as many soldiers as possible before they are themselves killed.

Members of the group have been observed carrying out surveillance of Holsworthy Barracks in western Sydney and other suspicious activity around defence bases in Victoria.

Electronic surveillance on the suspects is believed to have picked up discussions about ways to obtain weapons to carry out what would be the worst terror attack on Australian soil.

The cell has been inspired by the Somalia-based terrorist movement al-Shabaab, with two Melbourne men, both Somalis, having travelled to Somalia in recent months to obtain training with the extremist organisation, which is aligned with al-Qa'ida.

One of those men has already returned to Melbourne. The other is still in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab, which is using suicide bombers and jihadist fighters to try to overthrow the Somali government, seeks to impose a pure, hardline form of Islam, and sees the West as its enemy. It has been declared a terrorist organisation by the US and it has close links with al-Qa'ida leaders, including Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, an architect of the 1998 attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in which 223 people died.

The investigation of the group, dubbed Operation Neath, involves about 150 members of the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO. It was launched in late January.

Search warrants for at least 19 properties across Melbourne have been prepared to allow authorities to obtain more evidence against the group, which is believed to number about 18, with a smaller, hardcore element.

The suspects include Australians of Somali and Lebanese decent, most of whom are labourers employed in Melbourne's construction industry, or taxi drivers.

It is understood that several members of the group also wanted to travel to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab, but when travel became difficult, they turned their attention to carrying out a terrorist attack in Australia.

Al-Shabaab is currently searching for jihadist recruits around the world, including in Australia. Authorities fear that Australian Muslims who travel to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab could return to Australia as sleeper agents for future attacks in this country.

In the US, more than 20 Somali American men have disappeared from their Midwest homes in recent months to fight alongside al-Shabaab troops in Somalia.

The FBI's investigation into the radicalisation of Somali refugees in the US, via al-Shabaab, was described by The New York Times last month as “the most significant domestic terror investigation since September 11”.

The AFP is understood to have recently presented its evidence against the Melbourne cell to the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which advised that the evidence was sufficient to support charges being laid under national terrorism laws.

A previous AFP investigation _ Operation Rochester, in 2007 _ into extremist activities within small pockets of the nation's 16,000-strong Muslim Somali community petered out after it was established there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

Only a small number of Australia's Somali community adopt the hardline Wahabist view of Islam, but authorities fear radicalism among this minority is being fanned by recent events in Somalia.

Intelligence analysts warn that Somalia has become the new breeding for international Islamic terrorists, as extremists seek revenge for the events of December 2006, when US-backed forces from Christian Ethiopia toppled the hardline government known as the Islamic Courts Union.

The US and Australia defended the Ethiopian invasion as a front in the global war on terror, but it awakened the nationalism of many Somalis in Australia, as well as Muslims of other ethnic backgrounds, who viewed it as a Christian crusade into a Muslim land.

[Abul Hasan]

IT was a single phone call that sparked the second-largest terror investigation in Australian history, known as Operation Neath. In January, at the height of Melbourne's parched summer, an Australian-Lebanese man in his 30s telephoned a Somalian in the city's western suburbs and made a disturbing request.

He wanted assistance for himself and some of his friends to travel to the war-torn African state of Somalia.

The men wanted to become Islamic warriors with al-Shabaab, an extremist group in that country with close links to al-Qa'ida, and which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US. The fledgling Somalian terror group, barely three years old, had become the new face of Islamic resistance in Africa and was actively recruiting foreign fighters to help it overthrow the US-backed government in Somalia.

Investigators were monitoring the Lebanese man's calls after he came to their attention late last year for espousing extremist views at his local mosque in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

What unfolded over the next few months would confirm the worst fears of the nation's counter-terrorism chiefs and provide a grim reminder that Australians remain vulnerable to the threat posed by a handful of Islamic extremists, living in our suburbs, who are seduced by the dark side.

Australia's security agencies had suspected for several years there were illegal links between small pockets of the nation's 16,000-strong Somali community and the extremists in their war-torn homeland.

But the AFP and ASIO had never been able to prove the links, and an AFP investigation called Operation Rochester in 2007 petered out after no illegal connections were identified.

Now the authorities had found what they were looking for. And they would find much more than they bargained for. Authorities learned that the Somalian man who had been contacted by their Lebanese suspect was the “facilitator”, or point man, for Australian jihadists seeking to travel to the failed state and join the al-Shabaab resistance there.

Working from Melbourne's western suburbs, this travel agent for would-be jihadists had close connections with al-Shabaab members in Somalia and was able to arrange funding and logistics for Melbourne recruits.

Authorities believe he had in recent months arranged for two Somali Australians to be smuggled into Somalia, via Kenya, to train with al-Shabaab.

One of those Australian men remains in Somalia, where he is presumed to be training or fighting with al-Shabaab. The other Somalian man has recently returned to Melbourne.

But the Lebanese man proved more problematic for the Somalian facilitator in Melbourne. Visa and passport difficulties prevented him from making the trip to Somalia.

Frustrated by his inability to travel abroad to join al-Shabaab, the Lebanese man and the core hardline group discussed their options. Investigators listened in horror as the men were then overheard planning a terrorist attack in Australia.

From that moment, about three months ago, the top-secret investigation known as Operation Neath became the dominant focus of Australia's national security agencies.

Jointly run by the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, the investigation comprises about 150 police, intelligence agents and officials.

The group of suspects, involving Lebanese and Somali Australians, is believed to total about 18 men, with a core of hardliners. While they are deeply religious, there are no imams, or self-styled religious leaders, among them.

They are working-class men, consisting mostly of construction labourers and taxi drivers. None is believed to be tertiary educated, and they seem to have a limited understanding of the international affairs and events on which they justify their violent religious crusade.

The electronic evidence gathered by police against the group is chilling. Investigators listened as the men discussed a suicide attack on an Australian army base. The only reason offered for such an attack was the presence of Australian troops in Muslim countries, although Afghanistan and Iraq were not mentioned by name.

The plan was for the group to storm the entrance to an army base, firing automatic weapons. They would kill as many Australian soldiers as possible until they were themselves killed. None of them would surrender.

But hopes that this was nothing more than hairy-chested rhetoric were soon dashed when surveillance teams followed one of the suspects to Holsworthy Barracks in southwestern Sydney.

The historic military base is home to Australia's elite Parachute Battalion and Commando Regiment.

Investigators watched as the suspect quietly cased the scene, observing movements of people and traffic. Other suspicious behaviour near Victorian defence bases raised concerns of investigators that the group might also be conducting reconnaissance missions in that state.

In addition, the suspects were overheard discussing ways to obtain firearms, and swapping notes on which of their family and friends had firearm licences.

Gathering evidence against the group was a painstaking task, with the suspects often taking steps to evade surveillance by meeting in their local mosque or holding discussions in parks.

But several months ago there was a hitch in the group's plans. One of the group's core players, the Lebanese man who originally sparked the investigation, suddenly found himself in jail for alleged assault.

He had been involved in a confrontation with a nearby resident over a minor matter and was put behind bars, making it difficult for authorities to assess how close the group might be to carrying out the attack.

Investigators were also concerned about another member of the group, a Somalian, who returned to Australia last month after receiving military training from al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Training with al-Shabaab usually involves a six-week course covering guerilla tactics and instruction on how to handle explosives. However, Somalia is a lawless, failed state that remains a blackhole for Western intelligence agencies.

Australian agencies do not know what sort of training the Australian might have received there, but they do know the man did not finish his full training course. It is unclear why he cut short his training and returned to Melbourne.

Authorities were concerned that this man, who holds an Australian passport, might have become further energised and radicalised while in Somalia, and may have returned to Melbourne to encourage the Melbourne cell to carry out the plan sooner rather than later.

These uncertainties placed authorities in a dilemma. Continuing to monitor the activities of the group would allow investigators the chance to gather new intelligence to maximise their chances of securing convictions against the men. But not acting quickly would risk the unthinkable prospect of the group actually carrying out the attack.

Faced with these decisions, the AFP is understood to have recently presented its evidence against the Melbourne cell to the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which advised that the evidence was sufficient to support charges being laid under national terrorism laws.

In recent weeks plans were drawn up for an extensive series of raids on properties across Melbourne. Sources said these raids were to take place as early as this morning after it was concluded, at a series of high-level meetings over the weekend, that immediate action was justified to prevent the possibility of innocent lives being lost.
Phone call sparked Operation Neath | The Australian

[Aseerun]

A phone call? Wasn't the previous 'terror' case in Melbourne over phone calls...

Anyway, they raided so many homes and arrested 4 brothers so far:

JOINT counter terrorism raids, the result of a seven-month surveillance operation, has led to four arrests, Australian Federal Police acting Chief Commissioner Tony Negus said today.

Terrorists were planning a suicide mission involving semi-automatic weapons on an Australian miliary base, he said.

The four people arrested, all Australian citizens, are being interviewed and several others are assisting with inquiries.

Police are currently interviewing a 26-year-old Carlton man, a 25-year-old Preston man, a 25-year-old man from Glenroy and a 22-year-old man from Meadow Heights..

The raids involved the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Victoria Police, NSW Police, the NSW Crime Commission and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

Despite the operation, Mr Negus said national security levels remained at medium.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said search warrants issued across Melbourne and at Colac in the state's south-west may take 24 hours to complete.

Mr Overland stressed the overwhelming number of Islamic people in Australia and Melbourne were valued members of the community, not terrorists.

He said he was disappointed by leaks that lead to reporting of the raids in The Australian newspaper.

Copies of the newspaper were publicly available at 1.30am (AEST) in Melbourne, well ahead of the raids, he said.

Mr Overland said police acted after it "got to a point where we decided it was appropriate to act".

Mr Negus said there could be further arrests, other than four people in custody.

He confirmed the Holsworthy Base in Sydney was an alleged target, as well as "suspicious activity around other bases".

Mr Negus said the allegations related specifically to an attack with firearms, not bombs.

"We believe these men were affiliated with a group called al-Shabaab in Somalia," he said.

On the raids, Mr Negus said: "We were satisfied the timing was right - obviously the primary concern is public safety."

He stressed the police information at this stage was only a series of allegations that needed to be tested in court.

Mr Negus said, however, if the alleged plot had been carried out, it would have been the most serious terrorist act ever on Australian soil.

About 400 police were used to execute 19 search warrants about 4.30am (AEST) on Tuesday.

Homes in the northern Melbourne suburbs of Glenroy, Meadow Heights, Roxburgh Park,

Broadmeadows, Westmeadows, Preston and Epping were raided by police, as well as at Carlton in inner Melbourne and Colac in south-western Victoria.
Four arrests in terror raids | The Australian

[abdraheim]

May Allah give these brothers and their families sabr wa thabaat

[InTheHearts0fGreenBirds]

AMEEN. The army barracks they speak of in sydney is about a 5 minute drive from my house

[Muwahidah1]

Please make dua for these brothers, they are raiding all their friends homes and searching them for any evidence. So far they have raided 19 houses, may Allah swt be at their aid and protect them from the oppression of the kuffar ameen.

Remember them in your prayers, this is really upsetting.

[Aseerun]

thumma ameen.

A trusted sister said that some of the brothers have been released...no verification though, so Allaahu a'lam.

One has been charged so far:

A 25-year-old man from Glenroy in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, has been charged with an act in preparation for, or planning a terrorist act.

The man, who was arrested in the pre-dawn raids, is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court shortly.

Victoria police have also confirmed they are interviewing a fifth man in relation to the alleged terror plot. The 33-year-old is already in custody for an unrelated matter.

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 in the second-largest counter-terrorism operation in the nation's history.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said a terrorist attack on Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks was "likely imminent'' when police swooped.

Mr Scipione said a 35-year-old man from Lakemba, also in Sydney's southwest, is assisting police with inquiries into the alleged plot.

However, the man has not been arrested, was unlikely to be charged and his house was not among those being raided, the commissioner added.

Mr Scipione said NSW police first became aware of the alleged plans in late March.

``I'm not sure of the timing (of the attack) other than to say than it was likely imminent,'' he said.

``That was part of the reasoning behind in moving like we have."

Man, 25, charged over terror raids | The Australian

[Aseerun]

It's been a bad day, subhanAllaah - so many have been affected. I was just speaking to one of my close friends and I had to calm her down from crying...Other than the four brothers, they've taken in some others for questioning and they're apparently looking to raid/arrest some more...I don't know what else to say; but just pray, just ask Allaah to ease things and grant the Muslimeen victory, where ever they may be.

Here's some info on the brother that has been charged so far and the case in general:

Source

A man charged over an alleged conspiracy to attack an army base in New South Wales put on a defiant face in court today, refusing to stand before the magistrate.

Nayef El Sayed, 25, of Glenroy, briefly appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court this afternoon. He was remanded in custody to reappear on October 26.

El Sayed would not stand when asked to by Magistrate Peter Reardon. Asked why, El Sayed’s lawyer, Anthony Brand, said his client would stand for no man, only for God, according to his religious beliefs.

El Sayed is charged with "conspiring to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act", namely an armed attack on the Australian Army Base at Holsworthy, south-west of Sydney.

Earlier, a court heard that the suspected terrorists arrested today allegedly intended to become martyrs in an attack on the base.

The Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard police believed there was a conspiracy to use weapons to fire upon Australian military personnel.
Prosecutor Nick Robinson, SC, alleged the men intended to keep shooting until they were killed or arrested.

Mr Robinson agreed with Magistrate Peter Reardon that their intention was to become martyrs.

The court heard only one man had been charged with terrorism-related offences while three other men remained in custody without charge.
Investigators are seeking a court order to extend their questioning of the men for eight hours.

One of the men, Saney Aweys, appeared in court handcuffed and flanked by two federal agents. He denied any connection with the men mentioned in court by Mr Robinson.

Aweys, who has not been charged and who was unrepresented, said he was a boilermaker and needed sleep after being awake for the past 30 hours.

He said the police had put him in a "small room (and) when I told them of my fatigue and tiredness they told me to have a nap with the lights on".

"I want it to stop now,’’ he said. "I want to have a rest.’’

Mr Reardon granted the application for Aweys to be interviewed for eight hours from 6pm tonight. He adjourned today's hearing until 2pm for further applications to be made by the prosecution and their defense.

Federal agent David Kinton told the court the telephone intercepts had recorded text messages exchanged about the Holsworthy base.

He quoted one that allegedly said: "I stalked around. It is easy to enter."
He said the men had attempted to find an Islamic sheik or religious authority to give them support to engage in violent attacks in Australia.

Mr Kinton said there had been other text messages sent between the men. "I'm waiting for your message," one allegedly said in relation to the information about the Holsworthy base.

"Can you give me the address of Australia and name of train station," another text allegedly said.

CCTV footage allegedly shows one of the men arriving at Holsworthy on March 28, Mr Kinton said. He said one telephone discussion intercepted by police involved a man believed to be in Somalia who was engaged in conflict there.

Mr Robinson said that evidence would involve electronic and physical surveillance.

In granting the application for the extension Mr Reardon said terrorism acts "strike at the heart of our democratic society". He said he would allow the questioning of "such serious allegations’’ to continue.

[Muwahidah1]

wAllah it's been a very bad & depressing day for all, even for us who have family friends that have been kicked out of their own homes cos they've been raided.

The government is so shifty. They introduced these new terror laws two weeks ago where they cannot sue for compensation if they have been wrongly convicted and they dont even get an apology. They are not allowed to have their own privacy cos they are 'terrorists.'

It was good to hear what the charged brother did, he didn't stand up to the judge and said he doesn't stand up to anybody except for God, mashaAllah. May Allah swt grant them sabr.

And as for this sheikh who warned the government about them two years ago - shame on him. May Allah swt give him what he deserves.