LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Australia's arrest of four suspected attack plotters said to have links to a Somali group may suggest radicalised veterans of war in the Horn of Africa are willing to return to the diaspora to strike Western targets.The four, all Australian citizens with Somali and Lebanese backgrounds, were arrested in dawn raids on 19 properties across Melbourne, after a seven-month investigation involving several forces and Australia's national security agency ASIO.The group in question is al Shabaab, which is conducting an international recruitment campaign backed by al Qaeda's propaganda network for fighters to join its push to take power in Mogadishu and impose strict Islamic rule.Although al Shabaab plays up its link to the transnational network of Osama bin laden, attacking Western targets overseas is not its primary goal, which is overwhelmingly domestic.But one consequence of its use of ethnic Somalis from the millions-strong diaspora community may be that veterans head home with the funds or skills to attack Western targets of their own volition, Western counter-terrorism officials say."The chances are extremely remote that this was Shabaab saying 'Go off and strike Australia'," said Will Hartley, Editor of Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, a security consultancy and information provider."NOT MERELY RESISTANCE FIGHTERS""Far more likely is that Australia was targeted by Australians who had been in Somalia, were radicalised, and were intent on carrying out or expanding the jihad themselves ... not under Shabaab orders," he said.The arrests coincide with a surge in Western concern about radicalisation of some Western converts to Islam. On July 29 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned of increased "radicalisation" of Americans going abroad and then returning home with the "aim of doing harm to the American people."He was speaking two days after seven people were arrested in North Carolina for allegedly plotting attacks overseas. Holder also expressed concerns about a group of young Somali men leaving the Minneapolis area to join al Shabaab.Acting Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said those arrested on Tuesday had planned to storm a suburban Sydney army base with automatic weapons and kill those inside.Prosecutors told the Melbourne Magistrate's Court they had evidence some of the men had taken part in training in Somalia and at least one had engaged in frontline fighting in Somalia...mor..http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSL4435286Australia foils terrorist plot to attack army base
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) รข€” Police in Australia foiled terrorist plans for commando-style suicide attacks on at least one army base, arresting four men Tuesday with suspected links to a Somali Islamist group, senior officers said. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the plot was a "sober reminder" that Australia is still under threat from extremist groups enraged that the country sent troops to join the U.S.-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some 400 officers from state and national security services took part in 19 pre-dawn raids on properties in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, and arrested four men, all Australian citizens ranging in age from 22 to 26, police said. ..more..http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8640612
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