Suspected bomber's brother nabbed in raids

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/afp-raid-islamic-bookstore-in-qld-report/story-fn3dxiwe-1227053825531



THE brother of a suspected Australian suicide bomber has been arrested for recruiting foot soldiers in the battle to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

OMAR Succarieh is one of two men who'll be charged with organising incursions into Syria after a series of raids in Brisbane and Logan on Wednesday, following a year-long counter-terrorism investigation.
Police say there's nothing to suggest the men were planning a terrorist attack in Australia, nor was there any threat to the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in November.

But they said police had to proceed with the raids on Wednesday, in the interests of public safety, after finding one of the men with a gun and crossbow.

Succarieh, 31, is the brother of Ahmed Succarieh, an Australian reported to have committed a suicide bombing in Syria.

It's alleged the two Brisbane men were connected to the Sunni extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra, a terrorist group banned in Australia that is fighting to defeat the al-Assad regime.

AFP National Manager Counter Terrorism Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said there was nothing to connect the men to the jihadist Islamic State movement.

"This has got nothing to do with Islam. This is criminal behaviour by Australians involved in terrorist activity," Mr Gaughan said.

In an extraordinary police operation, about 180 federal and Queensland police raided nine properties in Logan and Brisbane, including the iQraa Islamic Centre, in the Logan suburb of Underwood.

Succarieh, and the other man arrested, a 21-year-old from Logan, were both linked to the centre, where police seized evidence on Wednesday.

Photos taken by media outlets at the scene showed an arrow and styrofoam head pockmarked with puncture holes.

Mr Gaughan said seized electronic records would be crucial to the ongoing investigation, adding there were no other suspects in Australia.

But he said there were links to Syria and the investigation was ongoing.

The raids come as Australia weighs whether its terror threat level should be raised from medium to high, meaning an attack on home soil is considered likely.

"We've moved upwards above moderate, but whether we are yet at wanting to say it is high or extreme is obviously a big step," Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said on Wednesday.

"One of the things we obviously need to look at is whether there ought to be interim steps available so we can make incremental changes to our terror threat assessments as our situation worsens."

Federal police assured Australians everything was being done to keep the nation safe amid the heightened threats.

"The appropriate mechanisms for dealing with the increase in the terrorism alert - increasing our patrols, looking at security at airports - they're tried and tested and I'm comfortable that we'll be in a position to respond accordingly," Mr Gaughan said.

THE ACCUSED AND THE CHARGES:

Omar Succarieh, 31, from the Brisbane suburb of Kuraby

- To be charged with providing funds to the terrorist organisation Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, under the Criminal Code Act of 1995

- To be charged with preparing incursions into Syria with the intention of engaging in hostile activity, under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978

A Boronia Heights man, 21

- To be charged with preparing incursions into Syria with the intention of engaging in hostile activities

- To be charged with recruiting persons to engage in hostile activities in Syria under the 1978 laws

Do you agree with him Gandalf?

freediver wrote on Sep 14^th, 2014 at 12:18pm:


ِAbsolutely not.

The AFP statement should have mentioned that these devout muslims are merely following the commands of their hideous prophet. In addition they should have also condemned all the muslim leaders who spoke out against IS as "unislamic" - or taqqiya pratcitioners, one of the two.

That would have hosed things down just nicely right?

freediver wrote on Sep 14^th, 2014 at 3:30pm:


Not you thats for sure.

Of course it couldn't possibly be that he's trying to avoid alienating an entire community by tarring them all with the same brush - given that the first thing the authorities need in order to combat this threat is to have the islamic community on side.

I take it you would have opted for the "following their hideous prophet" statement? Do you think that would help the situation?

So presumably you've been scratching your head all this time Tony Abbott and his ministers have been repeating the same line over and over?

Unfortunately, most people haven't interrogated talked to Abu, and therefore don't have your deep and profound insights into islam.

I'm afraid that this is not widely known as a "blatant and transparent" lie in the Australian community. Good thing we have you to educate everyone though.

freediver wrote on Sep 14^th, 2014 at 4:04pm:


Your not listening FD - I already said it is 100% about muslims following the commands of their hideous prophet - to recruit believers to abandon their communities and travel to the other side of the world to behead non-believers - and that this "blatant and transparent" fact should be broadcast by the authorities as loudly as possible - to, you know, promote calm and stability in the community.

You must have been absolutely horrified when Tony Abbott said he refused to dignify ISIS with the name "Islamic State" because he thought it had no semblance to anything islamic.

polite_gandalf wrote on Sep 14^th, 2014 at 4:16pm:

Jesuit education.
Google: taqqiya.

Everything they say and do is impeccably koranic and faithful to hadith.

polite_gandalf wrote on Sep 14^th, 2014 at 4:16pm:


Is this supposed to calm and reassure people Gandalf?