'Islamic State group behind foiled plane bomb plot' - Australian Police

A senior Islamic State commander directed a group of Australian men to build a bomb destined for an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney, police said on Friday.

Recall that Australian Police carried out counter-terrorism raids in four suburbs of Sydney on Saturday, July 29, over a suspected bomb plot to bring down an aircraft. Four men were taken into custody in what was described as a "major" operation by the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team. See previous report: here

Speaking at a news conference today, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner National Security Michael Phelan said one of the men had sent his unsuspecting brother to Sydney airport to catch the flight carrying a home-made bomb disguised as a meat mincer built at the direction of the commander.

Police said two men who have been charged with terror-related offences also planned to build a device to release poisonous gas in a public area.

High-grade military explosives used to build the bomb were sent by air cargo from Turkey as part of a sophisticated plot inspired and directed by the militant Islamic State group, Phelan said.

He said the plot targeted an Etihad Airways flight on July 15 but that the bomb never made it past airport security.

"This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil," Phelan said.

Police allege that one of the two men charged late on Thursday had been introduced to Islamic State by his brother, who they said was a senior member of the group in Syria.

Communication between the accused man and Islamic State began around April. Under the instruction of the unidentified Islamic State commander, the men built a "fully functioning IED" (improvised explosive device).

One of the arrested men's brother was unaware that he was carrying a bomb, disguised as a commercial meat mincer, in his luggage, and tried to check it in at the airport, police said.

"We'll be alleging that the person who was to carry the IED on the plane had no idea they were going to be carrying an IED," Phelan said.

“This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil”
There was "a little bit of conjecture" about what happened next, he said, but it appeared one of the accused then left the airport, taking the luggage with him. The man's brother boarded the plane and has not since returned to Australia.

"I want to make it quite clear — it never got near screening. I don't want anyone to suggest that it ... penetrated airport security layers ... because it did not. It didn't go anywhere near it," Phelan said.

Etihad said in a statement on Friday it had been working closely with the Australian Federal Police investigation.

Police arrested four men last weekend in raids across Sydney, Australia's biggest city. One man has been released, while another is still being held without charge under special counter-terror laws.
Domestic media have identified the two men who have been charged as Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat, who each face two counts of planning a terrorist act. The charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Police search for evidence at a block of apartment on Sunday in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, after counter-terrorism raids across the city on the weekend.

The men did not apply for bail at a court hearing on Friday, a spokeswoman for New South Wales Courts said, and bail was formally denied.

Their next scheduled court appearance is on Nov. 14. U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said this week a foreign intelligence service had intercepted communications between the plotters in Sydney and Islamic State members in Syria.

The officials declined to identify the foreign intelligence service. Another U.S. official said the flight was bound for the Gulf.

Police also said they had uncovered the early stages of a plot to build an "improvised chemical dispersion device" designed to release hydrogen sulphide gas. Precursor chemicals and other components were found but the accused were "a long way" from making a functioning device.
Foul-smelling hydrogen sulphide, or "rotten egg gas," is deadly in high concentrations.

Police said preliminary and hypothetical discussions between the accused and Islamic State suggested a plan to deploy it in a crowded place, such as public transport.

Source: Reuters/NBC