Posted on 11/13/2005 7:17:07 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SYDNEY, Australia - Three recently arrested terror suspects had been stopped and questioned by police last December near Australia's only nuclear reactor, according to a police document released Monday.
The document also outlined what it said were plans by the men to stockpile chemicals for making explosives and that they "obtained extremist advice and guidance" from a firebrand cleric arrested along with them.
The three men arrested near the nuclear reactor were among 18 terror suspects arrested in Sydney and Melbourne last week and accused of plotting to carry out a "catastrophic" attack in Australia. The police document identifies the nuclear reactor as a possible terror target.
A police fact sheet, provided during a court hearing last week and released publicly on Monday, alleges that three of the eight Sydney suspects were stopped in their car near the nuclear facility in southern Sydney in December 2004.
The men also had an off-road motorbike and claimed they were there to ride, the document said, noting that all three gave different versions of the day's events to police.
Police inquiries revealed the lock of a gate to a reservoir of the reactor had recently been cut, the document said.
The three — Mazen Touma, Mohammed Elomar and Abdul Rakib Hasan — along with five other Sydney men, have been charged with conspiring to manufacture explosives in preparation for a terrorist act.
Their lawyer has said prosecutors have produced no evidence of an imminent terror attack in the country.
The police fact sheet, which outlines the prosecution's case against the eight Sydney suspects, said members of the group sought materials to produce explosives, ordering dozens of gallons of chemicals.
During a search of Elomar's home on June 27, police said they found a computer memory stick which contained instructions in Arabic for making TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, a highly unstable explosive made from commercially available chemicals.
Australian police have said TATP is similar to the bombs used by suicide bombers the July 7 attacks on London's public transport system, but British authorities have refused to confirm those reports.
The statement also said some of the men attended a terrorist training camp at a rural property in a remote area of New South Wales state, and "obtained extremist advice and guidance" from the firebrand cleric, Abu Bakr, who made headlines last year by calling Osama bin Laden a "great man."
Abu Bakr, whose real name is Abdul Nacer Benbrika, was among the men arrested during last week's raids.
Another of the men arrested, Abdulla Merhi, wanted to carry out attacks to avenge the war in Iraq, police said in a Melbourne court. Australian Prime Minister John Howard was a strong supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has sent hundreds of troops to the country.
An image from a television broadcast shows the Lucas Heights reactor in south Sydney. Three men arrested here last week on suspicion of plotting a major terrorist attack had been spotted by police a year ago near Australia's only nuclear reactor, according to police claims(AFP/File)
This artist's sketch shows nine arrested terror suspects during a court appearance in Melbourne's Magistrate Court. Australian police launched fresh raids after officials said they had foiled a 'catastrophic act of terrorism' inspired by a radical Islamic cleric with the arrest of 17 suspects earlier in the day.(AFP/HO/Fay Plamka)
Hey did you hear about the fellow really arrested in the netherlands recently for plotting to attack and el al jet?
He had a prior arrest for vandalizing a nuclear power plant, odd coincidence.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika Lived in Melbourne with his family for ten years, lived on the dole, free health care, subsidized housing, said during an interview 'Osama is a great man' ...pretends he is a cleric. I WANT THIS SCUM OUT OF AUSTRALIA!
Here's another one:
Former baggage handler denies terror link (snip) June 11 2003 By Rob Taylor, Graeme Webber
Picture: A CURRENT AFFAIR Bilal Khazal, linked by the CIA to al-Qaeda, insists the claims are baseless.
A former Qantas baggage handler yesterday denied an intelligence report linking him to terrorism.
At the same time the Federal Government promised that security checks of airline staff would uncover any threats.
Reports compiled by the US Central Intelligence Agency had linked the former Qantas baggage handler, Bilal Khazal, to al-Qaeda and said he worked at Sydney's international airport before the Olympics in 2000.
He came under notice during a security review at the airport, and his passport has since been confiscated.
Mr Khazal was said to be planning terrorist attacks on US interests in Venezuela and the Philippines, according to a CIA report dated mid-June 2002 and based on intelligence from the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/10/1055220602132.html
"Who helped them set foot on Australia?"
WHO HELPED YOURS SET FOOT INSIDE THE US?!
OH MAN Norm I hope they stop this thing on the bud
The long beard is a sure sign of a particularly fanatic Ishmaelite demon-worshipper.
The other thing to look for is the cuffs of the pants. Apparently it is a no-no for a Mahometan fiend to allow his trousers to cover his ankles, so they all go about in "high-waters" when they are not in some kind of a robe.
-ccm
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