Australia Details ‘Sophisticated’ Plot by ISIS to Take Down Plane
4, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian police described on Friday an elaborate terrorist plot in which two men from Sydney tried to place an explosive supplied by the Islamic State on a flight last month, an operation
that officials said was among "the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil." The two men, who have been charged with planning a terrorist act, were scheduled to appear in court via video link on Friday, and they were refused bail.
But at a news conference in Sydney on Friday, they asserted
that investigators had "completely disrupted this plot." The counterterrorism investigation started last week, after the local authorities received intelligence that someone in Australia was planning an attack against what officials described as "Australian aviation targets." Investigators said that person in Australia had been receiving directions from a member of the Islamic State in Syria.
Investigators also said that after the airport plot did not succeed, the suspects tried to create an improvised chemical device intended to release
"highly toxic hydrogen sulfide." An Islamic State operative in Syria advised the men on which public areas to place the device, the police said.
Michael Phelan said that The threat from terrorism is real,
Turkey were that This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil.
As part of the plot, one of the men brought the explosive device to the Sydney airport in a piece of luggage,
and asked his brother to take the luggage on the plane without disclosing its actual contents.
The Australian Federal Police said the charges covered an aborted attempt last month to place an explosive on an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney.
