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Major terrorism attack foiled in Australia, 17 suspects held

CANBERRA: Australia said it foiled a “catastrophic act of terrorism” inspired by a radical Islamic cleric after police raids on Tuesday detained 17 suspects.

The pre-dawn raids in Melbourne and Sydney involved over 450 heavily armed officers backed by helicopters in Australia’s largest anti-terrorism operation. The raids came less than a week after Prime Minister John Howard said he had credible information an attack was being planned and pushed an amendment to counter-terrorism laws through parliament. The suspects were rushed to court within hours of their arrest. Prosecutors said chemicals seized in the raids were similar to those used in July’s London transport bombings which killed more than 50 people.

A court in Melbourne was told the suspects were committed to holy war and prepared to kill Australians and had discussed staging suicide bombings. At least five of the accused are Australian citizens. “Thankfully, the police forces of this country might just have prevented a catastrophic act of terrorism in this country,” said New South Wales Police Minister Carl Scully. Police said they arrested seven people in Sydney and nine in Melbourne as a 16-month investigation culminated in raids on more than 20 homes.

One more suspect was shot in the neck and critically injured after he fired at police who ordered him to stop as he walked along a suburban Sydney street near a mosque several hours after the raids, police said. NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said the operation was ongoing and he expected further arrests in coming days and weeks.

Among those arrested in Melbourne was Algerian-born cleric Abu Bakr, also known as also known as Abdul Nacer Benbrika. Prosecutors said he was the leader of both the Sydney and Melbourne groups, which were “committed to the cause of violent jihad” or holy war. The 45-year-old cleric was charged with directing activities of a “terrorist organisation” while the other Melbourne suspects were charged with membership of the organisation.

Prosecutors allege one of the men, named in court as Abdul Amahi, discussed becoming a suicide bomber because he wanted revenge on “infidels” for the war in Iraq, where Australia has sent troops. The Sydney suspects were charged with preparing to manufacture explosives in preparation for a terrorist act. All those charged were refused bail. The authorities did not detail any targets selected by the group but have said that suspects had carried out surveillance on the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, railway stations and the Melbourne Stock Exchange. reuters

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