Australian counter-terror raids - Islamic State had planned public beheadings

A man believed to be Australia’s most senior Islamic State (IS) member apparently instructed contacts in Australia to carry out a campaign of random public beheadings in Sydney and Brisbane. Mohammad Ali Baryalei, a former bouncer and part-time actor, is understood to have ordered the executions to be recorded on camera. That video was then to be sent back to IS’s media unit in the Middle East, where it would be publicly released. The revelation follows a series of arrests in pre-dawn counter-terrorism raids across Sydney and Brisbane, with 15 people detained. Court documents show that Omarjan Azari, 22, who was among the 15, has been charged with conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist attack.

It’s been an immediate reaction to a clear, imperative danger. There is still an enormous amount of material for police to assess.”

Commonwealth prosecutor Michael Allnutt

More than 800 officers launched raids as part of Operation Appleby in suburbs across Sydney’s west and north-west, with a further 70 police involved in raids on properties in Brisbane’s south. During the raids in Brisbane, police arrested some suspects who had machetes, balaclavas and military fatigues in preparation to carry out the similar and simultaneous attacks. The government believes up to 60 Australians are fighting alongside jihadists for IS, while another 100 were actively working to support the movement at home.

Asia-Pacific australia terrorism