Australia Raises Terror Alert To ‘High’ On Mideast Fears

[Mehtab Singh]

Sydney: Australia on Friday raised its terror threat level to high for the first time in a decade on growing concern about Australian Islamist militants returning from fighting in Iraq and Syria.

The heightened alert after years on medium officially means a terrorist attack is likely and comes after repeated government warnings that attacks could happen.

There are people with the intent and the capability to mount attacks here in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a press conference.

The lifting of the threat level was not based on knowledge of a specific attack plan but rather a body of evidence that points to the increased likelihood of a terrorist attack in Australia, Abbott added in a joint statement with Attorney-General George Brandis.

Security and intelligence agencies are concerned about the increasing number of Australians working with, connected to, or inspired by terrorist groups such as Isil (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), Jabhat Al Nusrah, and Al Qaida, he said.

The threat they pose has been increasing for more than a year.

The high alert is just below extreme the top level which would indicate a terrorist attack is imminent or has occurred.

It followed a similar decision by Britain in August, which raised its terror threat risk level to severe meaning an attack is thought highly likely.

Abbott said his countrys alert was now broadly comparable to the threat level in the United Kingdom.

Monash Universitys Global Terrorism Research Centre director Greg Barton said the alert was last raised after the September 11, 2001 attacks and following the 2002 Bali bombings.

Weve never had the alert bumped up when nothings happened when theres no incident, Barton said, adding that the current move was largely driven by developments with [isil].

The government believes up to 60 Australians are fighting alongside militants for Isil, while another 100 were actively working to support the movement at home.

Abbott said based on previous experience with Australians who went to Afghanistan and Pakistan to join the Taliban, they had retained the inclination to engage in terrorist activity when they returned home.

We do know that people coming back from the Middle East are militarised and brutalised, accustomed to kill without compunction, do pose a significant threat to our community should they not be under the closest possible supervision, he said.

Barton said the higher alert would give authorities more resources in patrolling public locations and in sifting through intelligence about potential attacks.

Given that our big concern at the moment is the targeting of soft targets, particularly something like a train station in the city... our best line of defence... is intelligence, he said.

Abbott stressed the new threat level was not linked to his governments decision to support US military action in Iraq and Syria, adding: We have experienced significant levels of threats for a long time now.

We would be targets regardless of anything that we did.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institutes executive director Peter Jennings agreed, saying that while Australias alliance with the US might see some extra risk, it was only a result of a prolonged process of radicalisation involving significant numbers of Australians over the last few years.

Brandis stressed that the decision was not targeted at Muslims.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/australia-raises-terror-alert-to-high-on-mideast-fears-1.1384303

[Jonny101]

Australia, UK, EU, Russia all have hundreds of Jihadis each from their country fighting in the middle east. They will most likely pose a security risk for those countries. Most of these Jihadis are Salafists. In Australia one Street Dawah guy named Mohammad Ali Baryalei was a leader of a street Dawah group. He would convert many people claiming how he is preaching about a religion of peace. But then send many of his converts to the middle east to fight and even die. He is now wanted in Autralia.

You can see him here in this video in the green tshirt.

The Australian and other western governments should stop the activity of these Dawah groups. Most if not all of them are preaching Salafist ideology. It's best to nib it at the bud so they don't grow into a future threat as they are now becoming.