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Down Under

Australian Islamic State Orphans Rescued from Syria Camp

2019-06-25

[AnNahar] Eight orphans of Australian Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... fighters have been spirited out of a camp in Syria, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday, in an apparent U-turn. The children and grandchildren of two notorious jihadis are now in the care of Australian officials, he said in a statement. The children are believed to be aged between two and 17 and were living in a camp in northern Syria -- making consular access all but impossible. Morrison previously indicated his government would only help citizens if they approached an embassy or consulate but appeared to have had a change of heart. "The fact that parents put their children into harm's way by taking them into a war zone was a despicable act," Morrison said in a statement. "However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents." The group includes three surviving children and two grandchildren of Sydney-born Khaled Sharrouf -- who came to prominence after posting a photo of one of his sons holding the head of a Syrian soldier. There are also three children of Yasin Rizvic who travelled from Australia to Syria with his wife. Both Islamic State fighters are presumed dead. Morrison did not name the children or elaborate on how they were removed, but confirmed they were "repatriated from the conflict zone into the care of Australian government officials". The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the children had been moved to a country neighbouring Syria. Their case had gained widespread attention after the grandmother of the Sharrouf children -- 17-year-old heavily pregnant Zaynab, her younger sister Hoda, their eight-year-old brother Hamzeh, and Zaynab's two young children Ayesha, three, and Fatima, two -- had pleaded with Canberra to bring them home. Grandmother Karen Nettleton even travelled to the camp earlier this year to meet them but was rebuffed by authorities, and Morrison said he did not want to put Australian lives at risk. The prime minister on Monday repeated his concerns, adding that "repatriating these children was not a decision the Australian government made lightly". "Australia's national security and the safety of our people and personnel have always been our most important considerations in this matter," he said.

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Down Under

Australia strips citizenship from 5 Islamic State supporters

2018-08-10

[Rudaw] Five former dual nationals have been stripped of their Australian citizenship due to their involvement with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group overseas, a government minister said Thursday. A total of six people have now lost their Australian citizenship since the law was changed in 2015 to enable dual nationals to lose their citizenship rights for actions contrary to their allegiance to Australia, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said. "I can confirm that five more individuals have ceased to be Australian citizens because of their involvement with Islamic State offshore," Dutton said in a statement. Dutton did not identify the five. The Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney said they were three men and two women who had flown to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State group fighters. It is not clear when they traveled to the Middle East and when they lost their citizenship. Australia Broadcasting Corp. said they were aged in their 20s and 30s and might not be aware that they were no longer Australian. Intelligence agencies began investigating them last year, the ABC said. "We’ve arrived at a position now where it’s clear through their own conduct these people have renounced their Australian citizenship. They don’t deserve to be Australian citizens and in our judgment they would pose a great threat if they were to return to Australia," Dutton told ABC. The first person to lose Australian citizenship under the law was Sydney-born convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf. Sharrouf, 36, slipped out of Australia in 2013 on his brother’s passport because his own had been canceled because of his conviction for his part in a thwarted terrorist attack plot. He was left with Lebanese citizenship after his Australian citizenship was canceled in January last year. Sharrouf horrified the world in 2014 when he posted on social media a photograph of his young son clutching the severed head of a Syrian soldier. Then-US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... described that image as "one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed." Under section 35 of the Australian Citizenship Act, a dual national’s Australian citizenship automatically ceases if they act contrary to their allegiance to Australia by engaging in terrorism-related conduct. This includes those who fight for or who are in the service of a declared terrorist organization overseas. The Islamic State group was declared a terrorist organization for these purposes since May 2016. "It is opposed to Australia, its people and its democratic rights and privileges," Dutton said in a statement. "The government is determined to deal with foreign terrorist fighters as far from our shores as possible," he added.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Australia's most notorious ISIS jihadist 'killed in an air strike in Syria that also claimed the lives of his two sons, aged 11 and 12'

2017-08-17

[DailyMail] Notorious Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, 36, believed killed in airstrike in Syria Also dead were his sons Abdullah, 12 and Zarqawi, 11, after their car was blown up by a coalition missile last Friday near Raqqa Photos of their bodies were reportedly sent to several Australian extremists One of his brothers also confirmed their deaths to Islamic rebels in Australia Before joining ISIS, Sharrouf served almost four years’ jail for his role in the 2005 Pendennis terror conspiracy to attack in Sydney and Melbourne. He was stripped of his Australian citizenship earlier this year.

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Down Under

Prime minister says Islamic State fighter’s son can return to Australia

2017-05-09

[JAPANTIMES.CO.JP] A 6-year-old Australian boy photographed making an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... movement salute in front of a human body hanging from a cross somewhere in the Middle East is entitled to return to Australia with his siblings, the prime minister said Monday. But such children who return from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq will be subject to "the closest attention" to ensure Australians are safe, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said. "We will be utterly resolute in keeping Australians safe, and that applies to anyone who returns from the conflict zone, whether they are an adult or a child," Turnbull told news hounds. Australian media on Sunday published a photograph posted on social media by Sydney-born convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf of his youngest child. The smiling boy holds up his right index finger in a salute in front of an apparently lifeless body suspended from a cross with plastic cable ties. A sign hanging from the body said the capital crime was collaborating with Christians. Sharrouf’s Moslem-convert wife Tara Nettleton took their five children from Sydney to Syria to join their father in February 2014. Nettleton died of surgery complications last September, but her mother, Karen Nettleton, continues to lobby governments for help to bring the children home. Turnbull criticized Sharrouf, 35, over the picture, saying such behavior demonstrates why Australia is committed to destroying the Islamic State movement. "The despicable conduct of Khaled Sharrouf in using his child to promote the barbaric, terrorist activities of the organization of which he is part, is almost beyond belief," Turnbull said. "All of the children that are being exploited in this way, if they are Australian citizens, of course, would be able to return to Australia. But under the closest possible supervision," he added.

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Down Under

Australia strips citizenship from Khaled Sharrouf, Islamic State terrorist

2017-02-13

[WASHINGTONTIMES] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... combatant Khaled Sharrouf has become the first dual national to be stripped of his Australia citizenship under a 2015 anti-terrorism law, local media reported Saturday. Australia authorities recently evoked the law for the first time ever, a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton acknowledged Saturday, which gives the government the authority to strip the citizenship of dual nationals suspected of terrorism. The government declined to name the individual affected, but the Australian newspaper identified the person as Sharrouf, the son of Lebanese immigrants colonists and an infamous member of the Islamic State terror group. Sharrouf, 35, traveled to Syria in late 2013 prior to joining the Islamic State the following year, the newspaper reported. He gained notoriety in August 2014 after tweeting a photograph that showed his 7-year-old son holding the head of a slain Syrian soldier. "That’s my boy!" he reportedly captioned the image.

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Down Under

Khaled Sharrouf first Australian to lose citizenship under anti-terrorism laws

2017-02-11

[TheGuardian] Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf, who gained infamy after his young son was pictured holding a severed head, is believed to have become the first dual national stripped of Australian citizenship under anti-terrorism laws. Khaled is not exactly an "Australian" as you and I think of the word... A spokeswoman for the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, told Guardian Australia on Saturday an individual had been stripped of citizenship under anti-terror laws which passed parliament in 2015. She declined to name the person but the Australian newspaper reported it is dual national Sharrouf. He went to fight with Isis in Syria in 2013, a year after being released from prison for his role in a terrorism plot. In 2015, there were unconfirmed reports Sharrouf had died in a drone strike in Mosul. However he continued to be the subject of an active arrest warrant. He gained infamy for posing in photographs with the severed heads of Syrian soldiers in 2014. Sharrouf’s seven-year-old son was pictured holding up the severed head of a Syrian government official around the same time. In February last year it was reported the widow of Sharrouf had died in Syria, leaving her five children and a grandchild stranded and in hiding in Raqqa. Tara Nettleton is believed to have died from complications after an operation for appendicitis in September. Nettleton followed Sharrouf to Syria from Sydney with their children in 2014.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Report: Australian ISIL Fighter 'Still Alive' after Drone Strike

2015-06-29

[ALMANAR.LB] Canberra was Sunday attempting to verify whether an Australian ISIL group terrorist, notorious for being photographed with severed heads, had survived a drone attack after a report said he was still alive. Australian media last week reported that two of the country's most wanted ISIL terrorists, Khaled Sharrouf and Mohammed Elomar, were believed killed in a drone strike in Syria. But highly classified photographs of the Predator strike have only confirmed the death of Elomar, with no indications that Sharrouf also perished, The Sunday Telegraph reported. "He's got nine lives," an unnamed source told the newspaper. "It was a split-second thing." Prime Minister Tony Abbott has previously said his government had a "high degree of confidence" that Elomar had been killed in a coalition air strike but could not say the same for Sharrouf. The Telegraph said the classified photos showed Elomar standing next to a vehicle which was part of a convoy of ISIL bandidos holy warriors in Syria. Another image taken moments later showed an kaboom as the convoy was hit by a missile, with a third image showing the debris left by the strike. "Our security and intelligence agencies are working to verify reports that Khaled Sharrouf survived a coalition air strike which is believed to have killed Mohammed Elomar," Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Sunday. Sharrouf gained global infamy last year when he posted pictures on his Twitter account showing himself and his then seven-year-old, Sydney-raised son holding up the severed heads of slain Syrian soldiers.

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Iraq

Australian 'severed head' militants reportedly killed in Iraq

2015-06-24

[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Australia is close to confirming the reported death in Iraq of two home-grown snuffies who shot to infamy last year after being photographed holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Tuesday. Australia issued arrest warrants for suspected Australian Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... fighters Khaled Sharrouf and Mohammed Elomar after the images, which also showed Sharrouf's 7-year-old son holding one of the heads, caused a global outcry. The pair is believed to have been killed in an air strike on the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , which is under the control of the Sunni murderous Moslem group. Their deaths were first reported late Monday by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "The likelihood of verification in relation to Mr Elomar is probably imminent, however, in relation to Mr Sharrouf we're still seeking to verify the reports," Bishop told news hounds on Tuesday. "Given the security situation in Iraq it's difficult for our authorities to gain the kind of information that would be required to verify these reports." Australia is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Moslems or by home-grown snuffies returning from fighting in the Middle East, having raised its threat level to "high" and unleashed a series of high-profile raids in major cities. Sharrouf, who was convicted in 2005 as part of a plot to blow up a nuclear power plant in New South Wales state, and Elomar, a one-time professional boxer, became the public faces in Australia of the potential danger posed by imported muscle. The shocking photos helped catalyze public opinion behind a high-profile crackdown on murderous Moslem activity by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, as a result of which the government has secured expanded but controversial security powers. Australian citizens now face up to a decade in prison for travel to overseas areas declared off-limits and Abbott is expected to this week introduce legislation to strip citizenship from dual nationals found to have engaged in murderous Moslem acts. He has also worked to halt the flow of funds to overseas groups. The government last year shut a money transfer business linked to Sharrouf's family on suspicions it transferred up to A$20 million ($15.45 million) to foreign murderous Moslems. Abbott last month ruled out an amnesty for Australians seeking to quit foreign murderous Moslem groups and come home following reports that Sharrouf's wife was trying to negotiate a return for her and their young children.

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Down Under

Mass Counter-Terror Raids In Australia

2014-09-18

[DailyTelegraphAustralia] o Massive pre-dawn operation in Sydney and Brisbane involving 600 officers o ASIO and counter-terrorism operation swooped on homes in north-western Sydney and Brisbane o Several arrests made as raids continue ASIO and counter terrorism police have swooped on homes across north-western Sydney and other states this morning in what is believed to be the largest anti-terrorism bust in the nation's history. Several arrests have reportedly been made in the secret pre-dawn raid, which is still in progress. The arrests follow the execution of a number of search warrants in Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park. The Australian Federal Police can also confirm it is conducting search warrants in Brisbane. Warrants are being executed in the suburbs of Mount Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood. As this activity remains ongoing, it is not appropriate to comment further at this time. Further updates will be provided in due course. The raid is believed to have been mounted following months of surveillance of people linked to the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Daily Telegraph has learned that an estimated 600 officers from the Australian Federal Police, NSW counter terrorism unit and ASIO launched the pre-emptive strike in the early hours of this morning. The raids and arrests are believed to have been based on the execution of multiple ASIO and AFP warrants. It is believed that dozens of suspects have been netted, with links to a Brisbane man who was recently arrested on suspected terrorism related charges. It is believed that a terrorist network had been planning to carry out a series of attacks in Australia. The raid follows the lifting of the national security alert level from medium to high last Friday by the outgoing director general of ASIO David Irvine. It is believed the size of the raid eclipsed that of Operation Pendennis in 2005 when several hundred ASIO, AFP and NSW police arrested 13 men across Melbourne and the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, who had been planning bomb attacks in both capitals. Update at 7:37 ET from Australia's 9News: UPDATE: Former actor and "senior ISIL figure" Mohammed Baryalei named as man behind alleged Sydney beheading plot Sydney terror accused Omarjan Azari was allegedly working with Australia's most senior ISIL member and Underbelly actor Mohammad Baryalei to commit acts of terror, police have said. Mr Azari faced Central Local Court today charged with serious terrorism-related offences. 9NEWS understands Mr Azari is accused of plotting to abduct people off the streets and decapitate them in a manner similar to the recent ISIL beheadings of US and UK citizens in Syria. Mr Azari allegedly intended to wrap the bodies of victims in ISIL flags and upload video of the murders online. The video would help fuel the ISIL terror campaign which has led to the formation of an international coalition to eliminate the group. Court documents showed police have accused Mr Azari of working with Baryalei, Fairfax Media has reported. Baryalei, 33, is believed by authorities to be a senior ISIL member who recruited at least half of the Australians fighting with the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. He was a former bouncer and played a paramedic on Underbelly: The Golden Mile. Police said raids across Sydney this morning thwarted a plan to commit violence against "a member of the public on the streets". Fifteen people were detained after over 800 police officers searched 15 homes and 10 cars in north-western Sydney, in a joint AFP and NSW Police counter-terrorism operation called "Operation Appleby". Azari was the first person to be charged following the raids. He did not apply for bail today and will remain in custody until the case returns to court in November. A second man has since been charged with weapons offences. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it's believed an Australian senior ISIL member overseas was ordering networks back in Australia to conduct "demonstration killings". Police raids this morning were also carried out in suburbs in and around Brisbane but police said they weren't directly linked to the operation in Sydney. AFP Acting Chief Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the operation was following up on an investigation from last week. He said they were still working to determine links between the Brisbane and Sydney raids. Last week, Brisbane man Omar Succarieh, 31, was arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences following a raid at an Islamic bookshop in Logan. He's accused of fundraising for Syria-based extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra and helping another man, Agim Kruezi, obtain funds to fight for a terror organisation overseas. Mr Succarieh, who is due to apply for bail in court today, is believed to be the brother of Ahmed Succarieh, who reportedly became Australia's first suicide bomber in Syria last year. Logan man Kruezi, 22, has alleged links to the Islamic State group. Yesterday, a Lakemba money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of convicted Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was shut down. Authorities suspected it was sending millions of dollars to the Middle East to finance terrorism. There are about 60 Australians believed to be fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State, while another 100 are suspected of providing support from Australia. Mr Abbott lifted the country's terror alert to high last Friday. Today he praised Australian police and security forces who he said were "one step ahead of those who would do us harm".

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Down Under

Australian Police Searching For 5 Rocket Launchers in Sydney Bushland

2014-09-15

o Rocket launchers were stolen from military facility in 2002 o NSW Police stepping up their hunt with boosted resources o 20 IS fighters who returned to Ausralia are under surveillance POLICE are looking for five rocket launchers believed to be buried in Sydney bushland by a terror cell linked to Islamic State savages Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Spy Chief: 15 Australian Fighters Killed in Iraq, Syria

2014-08-28

[AnNahar] Fifteen Australians, including two young jacket wallahs, are believed to have died fighting in Syria and Iraq, intelligence chief David Irvine said Wednesday, warning that espionage and foreign intervention threats were increasing. Canberra has expressed alarm that around 60 Australians have joined violent jihadist groups such as Islamic State (IS) overseas. One Islamic State fighter, Australian man Khaled Sharrouf, sparked outrage when an image of his Sydney-raised son posing with the rotting head of a Syrian soldier was reportedly posted on Twitter. "The draw of imported muscle to Syria and Iraq is significant and includes more Australians than any other previous myrmidon conflicts put together," Irvine said. He said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) believed the number of citizens posing a potential security threat had increased substantially as a result. "ASIO believes there are about 60 or so Australians fighting with the two principal myrmidon al-Qaeda derivatives, Jahabat-al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Syria or Iraq," Irvine said. "We believe 15 Australians have already been killed in the current conflicts, including two young Australian suicide bombers." Irvine said 100 more people in Australia were "actively supporting" these myrmidon groups by recruiting new fighters, grooming suicide kaboom candidates, and providing funds and equipment. Australia has boosted its efforts to counter terrorism on fears that the bloody conflicts in Iraq and Syria are creating a new generation of turbans, including increasing spending on security and intelligence and strengthening terror laws. Irvine said intelligence agencies were concerned about the dangers posed when some of these people -- potentially with a commitment to violence and training in the use of weapons or bomb-making -- returned to Australia. He also warned that the age-old threats of espionage and foreign interference were on the rise against Australia. "I can say that we are seeing growth in espionage and foreign interference against Australia, both through cyber and more traditional methods," he said. "Further, the threat to government information from self motivated malicious insiders has increased." Asked about the killing of United States journalist James Foley, beheaded on a graphic video posted online last week, Irvine said he had no view on whether media outlets should have shown the footage. But he added: "It has, whether you liked it or not... brought home to us an understanding of the nature of what we are dealing with."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

ISIS jihadist poses with severed head as Caliphate seize more key towns

2014-08-15

[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] A British rapper who travelled to Syria to fight for ISIS has posted a photograph on Twitter showing himself posing with a severed head. The sickening image was taken in the city of Raqqa - the capital of ISIS' self-declared caliphate - and uploaded to the social media site along with the caption 'Chillin' with my homie or what's left of him.' The photograph shows masked former rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 23, holding the decapitated head while standing in Raqqa's central square - the same location where the seven-year-old son of Australian jihadist Khaled Sharrouf was seen holding a different severed head earlier this week. The shocking image of Bary emerged as ISIS hard boyz seized a number of key towns and villages close to Syria's northern border with Turkey. One wonders if it's the standard thing newbie jihadis do when they get there -- go to the head fence and pose with the nearest one. Kind of like taking a photo in front of Niagara Falls, or with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.

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