Wasn’t ISIS supposed to simply be a localized Middle East problem?
(ABC News) Police said they thwarted a plot to carry out beheadings in Australia by supporters of the radical Islamic State group by detaining 15 people and raiding more than a dozen properties across Sydney on Thursday.
The raids involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country’s history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling on Australian supporters to kill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
Abbott was asked about reports that the detainees were planning to behead a random person in Sydney.
“That’s the intelligence we received,” he told reporters. “The exhortations — quite direct exhortations — were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.”
Several of the Islamists made an appearance in court, and we learn
Commonwealth prosecutor Michael Allnutt alleged the plan to commit the act was designed to “shock, horrify, and terrify†the community.
“I don’t think I’ve seen much worse,†he said. (snip)
While the claims remain unconfirmed, it’s understood the plot involved abducting a random Australian, execute them by beheading in a public place, possibly Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD, and film the act and post on social media.
The ABC reported suspects arrested in Brisbane had purchased machetes, balaclavas and military fatigues.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said today’s events reminded Australians “how close to home the threat of terrorism can beâ€.
The Australian government thinks there are at least 100 citizens actively supporting Islamic extremism and extremist groups. It may not seem like much, but what can one person do with a bomb or an illegal “assault rifle”? Gun grabbers here in the U.S. want to restrict everyone’s rights, and even confiscate weapons, every time a shooting occurs.
Meanwhile, we learn that a Yemeni born NY State resident, Mufid A. Elfgeeh, was arrested in May and “faces three counts of trying “to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization” (namely, ISIS), one count of attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, two counts of having an unregistered firearm silencer and one for possessing guns or silencers “in furtherance of a crime of violence.”” Interestingly, the police seemed to understand his links to ISIS way back in early 2013, when they started their investigation. Why didn’t our president understand the danger?
Ed Morrissey notes This is one reason why the rise of a terrorist state is not just a local issue, or a regional issue. Terrorist states do not want to just be “left alone,†but will spread their terror and destruction until stopped. There is plenty of room for rational and legitimate debate on the most effective way to deal with ISIS and its genocidal army, but ignoring it or shrugging it off as a problem for the Arabs to solve won’t do anything but make our options much more limited and much more costly when we finally do deal with the problem.
The Jawa Report notes the French busting an ISIS recruiting ring.
ISIS has also released a new video threatening attacks on the US
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has released a new video warning the United States that ISIS fighters are ready and waiting if President Barack Obama sends troops, as his top general said may happen if the current strategy of airstrikes fails.
The slick, 52-second video entitled Flames of War shows militants blowing up tanks and images of wounded U.S. soldiers. It then shows a clip of Obama saying that combat troops will not be returning to Iraq, ending with a text overlay that reads “fighting has just begun.”
The House voted to authorize the use of force to aid Syrian rebels, 273-156, with 71 Republicans and 85 Democrats voting against. The Senate is supposed to vote on it today, probably after Harry Reid yammers at the Koch brothers for being on his lawn.
