Australia's Parliament will be protected by extra armed police patrols amid a threat by Islamic State to target the nation's government, as authorities continue to investigate an alleged beheading plot.
Intelligence agencies detected chatter this month between Australians fighting in Iraq and Syria and their supporters at home that the federal parliament in Canberra could be targeted, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday in Sydney.
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"I'm not aware that specific individuals have been named as part of this chatter," Abbott told reporters. "Certainly, government, government people and parliament have been referred to."
Authorities carried out the biggest antiterrorism operation in the country's history on Thursday, thwarting an alleged plot by extremists in Sydney to randomly abduct a member of the public and behead them as part of the Islamic State's global propaganda campaign. Australia's support of U.S.-led efforts to contain Islamic State has heightened the risk of domestic retaliation, while raising the prospect of a backlash against the almost 500,000 people who identify as Muslim.
The raids were prompted after an Australian senior Islamic State operative in Syria this week instructed locally-based supporters to conduct "demonstration killings of Australian citizens," Abbott said. Attacks may have been likely "within a few days," according to intelligence, he said.
"It is a serious situation when all you need to do to carry out a terrorist attack is to have a knife, an iPhone and a victim," he told reporters.
Abbott, who will host world leaders at November's Group of 20 summit in Brisbane, has committed 600 military personnel to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in the Middle East. The government raised the terror alert last week to the highest level in a decade, citing the threat posed by local supporters of the militant group.
Muslim community leaders met overnight with law enforcement officials in Sydney amid concern over an escalation of tensions since the terror alert was raised and as a result of the new arrests. Australia's Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammad called on lawmakers and the country's media to show restraint.
"Fair-minded Australians should not allow bigots and media shock jocks to undermine the cohesion within society," he said in an e-mailed statement. New South Wales Police said officers would work to prevent reprisal attacks against the Muslim community.
"The community reception of these police interventions does have to be considered," Kevin Dunn, Dean of the School of Social Science and Psychology at the University of Western Sydney, said by phone. "The best bulwark against tension is for relationships with depth between the police and the communities."
The raids Thursday, which involved about 800 police officers across 12 northwest Sydney suburbs, were proportionate with the scale of the threat, Abbott said. Efforts were being directed at preventing reprisals against Muslims, he said.
"I certainly don't want to isolate any community," Abbott told ABC Radio. "I want to wrap up the extended family of the Australian nation in an embrace."
Omarjan Azari, 22, appeared in a Sydney court Thursday charged with preparing and planning for a terrorist act and with conspiring with Mohammad Baryalei, who is overseas and wanted by Australian police for alleged terrorism-related activity.
Prosecutor Michael Allnutt told the court Thursday the planned act was designed to "shock, horrify" and terrify the public. Defense lawyer Steven Boland said the allegations were based on one intercepted phone call. Azari, who didn't apply for bail, was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned to Nov. 13.
A 24-year-old western Sydney man detained in the raids was charged late Thursday with possession of ammunition without a license and unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon, the Australian Federal Police said in a statement posted to its website. Two women will appear in court at a future date, while 11 others detained in the raids have been released as investigations continue, police said.
Australia is strengthening laws against domestic supporters of extremist groups and says at least 60 of its citizens are fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq.
The government has said that 20 Australians have returned from fighting with jihadists abroad and about 100 more are funding or facilitating militants. As many as 60 people may have been prevented from traveling from Australia to Syria or Iraq to fight, according to Clive Williams, who served as director of security intelligence within the Department of Defence until 2002.
"There is a sense of relief that a potential terrorism act has been nipped in the bud," Jamal Rifi, a Muslim community leader and president of Lakemba Sports Club, in Sydney's western suburbs, said today by phone. "At the same time there's a fear that the magnitude of the raids and the inflammatory remarks that have been made may cause some backlash."
Muslim organizations have noted an increase in hate mail and abusive phone calls, while some people been harassed on the streets, according to Rifi.
"This has been happening over the last couple of weeks, and yesterday it was intensified," said Rifi, who was involved in efforts to promote understanding between religions after the 2005 racial rioting in Sydney's beachside suburb of Cronulla.
Abbott said at the weekend Australia will deploy 400 air force personnel and 200 special forces soldiers to a U.S. military base in the United Arab Emirates along with fighter jets, as a coalition formed by President Barack Obama prepares to step up the fight against Islamic State.
The government raised the National Terrorism Public Alert System to high from medium on Sept. 12, the second-highest level, indicating the government and intelligence authorities believe an attack is likely.
Raising the alert will mean increased security screenings at airports, ports, government buildings and public gatherings such as major sporting events.
"People will notice that the security at the Parliament House is tighter very quickly," Abbott said today in Sydney. "The last thing we want to do is to offer a tempting target to those who would do us harm."
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