Posted on 11/14/2005 2:07:27 PM PST by naturalman1975
THE order from radical Islamic cleric Abdul Nacer Benbrika was to inflict "maximum damage" as the Sydney terror cell planned a violent jihad in Australia.
The Melbourne preacher met members of his alleged Sydney bomb-making cell in February and then again in July to offer guidance on how to wage a holy war, court documents say.
The Sydney cell used coded text messages to organise early morning meetings to plan their conspiracy, which had as its potential target Australia's only nuclear reactor, at Lucas Heights in Sydney, a police statement of facts released yesterday by Sydney's Central Local Court reveals.
"If we want to die for jihad we have to have maximum damage. Maximum damage. Damage their buildings, everything. Damage their lives to show them. In this we will have to be careful," Mr Benbrika is alleged to have said at a meeting with members of the Sydney group in Melbourne in February.
The fact sheet outlines how far advanced the plans of the alleged terror cell were. Casings for a potential explosive device were purchased just 11 days ago.
Eight Sydney men are charged with conspiring to plan a terrorist act by manufacturing explosives.
Mirsad Mulahalilovic, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rhakib Hasan, Omar Baladjam, Khaled Sharrouf, Moustafa Cheikho, Khaled Cheikho and Mazen Touma face a possible life sentence if found guilty. They are currently in high-security prisons in NSW after being arrested.
Ten men from Melbourne were also charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation.
The police fact sheet names Mr Benbrika as the spiritual leader of a radical Islamic sub-group and describes how, at a meeting in February, Mr Sharrouf allegedly told him "I want to die".
The document details the men's covert efforts to hoard commercially available chemicals, including acetone, hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid, to create explosives.
"During the course of this investigation various members of the conspiracy have arranged covert meetings in public places during the early hours of the morning," the fact sheet says.
"These meetings were organised using coded text messages from mobile phones which were obtained using false details."
In December last year, Mr Touma, Mr Elomar and Mr Rhakib Hasan were stopped by police near the Lucas Heights reactor.
They claimed they were in the area to ride a trail bike, but gave differing accounts of their activities that day. Police said the lock for a gate to a reservoir near to the reactor had recently been broken.
The document describes how members of the group, from Sydney's southwestern suburbs, travelled to far western NSW to conduct terror training.
Police traced them to Curranyalpa, an 8900ha property 140km southwest of Bourke, where they later found a campsite, ammunition shell cases, a fire-damaged torch battery and four spark plugs. Police believe the group also went to another camp, at Mulga Creek Station, near Bourke, in April.
Janine Bodkin, of the Mulga Creek Station, took the group's booking, saying she joked at the time that they "reminded us of bin Laden".
An array of chemicals, digital timers, semi-automatic weapons and extremist Islamic literature was seized from the men's homes. At Mr Touma's house, police found a video cassette titled Sheik Osama's training course, as well as 165 railway detonators, a pump-action shot gun and a Glock pistol.
At Moustafa Cheikho's home, they found two loaded semi-automatic hand guns, bottles of hydrogen peroxide, samurai swords and machetes.
It is alleged the men ordered 200 litres of sulphuric acid, acetone, 50 litres of hydrochloric acid, and 200 litres of methylated spirits but failed to collect them.
As well as seizing hydrogen peroxide, acetone and sulphuric acid, police seized compressed hexamine - an ingredient of the explosive hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD).
Mr Baladjam - a 27-year-old former bit-part actor - allegedly ordered a courier to pick up 15 10kg drums from a factory in Blacktown, Sydney, and deliver them to Ingleburn. He was also seen buying a backpack as recently as October 28.
That same day, Mr Baladjam, who had a shooter's licence, also allegedly purchased 900 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Police describe Mr Benbrika as "a Muslim extremist" who "has publicly declared his support of violent jihad".
Police say the Sydney men belong to a sub-group within the Lakemba branch of the Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaah Association, a Sunni Islamic group that follows a fundamentalist ideology. They say the sub-group adheres to a hardline interpretation and has "little or no respect for mainstream Muslim community leaders".
Monsters.
Glad to here these sickos are now removed from the ability to carry out their intentions. Every nation should have a death penalty, so that it can accomodate goons such as this. The sooner they are sent to Satan's abode the better for everyone.
"I want to die."
O.K. I'm good with that. I want you to die, too. We can work this out.
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