Terror suspects may have targeted Sydney nuclear reactor
(Filed: 14/11/2005)
The eight men arrested on terror charges in Sydney, Australia, last week
may have been planning attacks on Sydney's nuclear reactor, the police
have said.
A 21-page police court document shows that three of the men were stopped
near Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in December 2004.
After investigating the area, police found that the lock on one of the
gates surrounding the nuclear complex "had recently been cut".
The court document lists the incident under the heading 'possible targets
for terrorist attack'.
Seventeen men, including the suspected ringleader Abdul Nacer Benbrika,
also known as Abu Bakr, were arrested in Sydney and Melbourne on November
8 in Australia's biggest anti-terrorism raids.
The document, submitted to Sydney's Central Local Court today, outlined
the allegations against the eight suspects held in Sydney.
It shows that they bought chemicals used in the London July 7 bombs, had
bomb-making instructions in Arabic and videos entitled "Sheikh Osama's
Training Course" and "Are you ready to die?"
It also shows that their Islamic spiritual leader told the men that if
they wanted to die for jihad they should inflict "maximum damage".
"If we want to die for jihad, we have to have maximum damage. Maximum
damage. Damage their buildings, everything. Damage their lives," said
Benbrika, according to the document.
It also alleges that six of the men went on "hunting and camping trips",
which police described as jihad training camps, in the Australian outback
in March and April 2005.
"This training is consistent with the modus operandi of terrorists prior
to attacks," the police document said, adding one man attended a training
camp in Pakistan in 2001.
Australia, a staunch US ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been
on medium security alert since the September 11 attacks on America.
-- Harriet Williams JMG Foundation Tel. +44 7904 296 431
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