Advertisement

Sydney terror accused vow to ‘stab and strike’

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described a video shown to him of two men charged with terror offences in Sydney as “monstrous extremism”.

The two men pledged to ‘stab the kidneys and necks’ of Australians.

Mr Abbott told parliament on Thursday that security agencies showed him a video in which the men make the pledge.

Why tougher terror laws won’t stop ‘lone idiots’
Terror raid: video recovered
• Two killed in anti-terror raid
• Terror raid family set to launch legal action

“I swear to almighty Allah we will carry out the first operation for the soldiers of the caliphate in Australia,” the Prime Minister quoted one of the men as saying.

The man went on to say: “I swear to almighty Allah, blond people, there is no room for blame between you and us. We only are you, stabbing the kidneys and striking the necks.”

Of the video, Mr Abbott said: “I don’t think it would be possible to witness uglier fanaticism than this, monstrous extremism than this.”

In the chilling declaration akin to a martyrdom video, one of the accused is seen kneeling before an Islamic State flag, holding a knife, with a machete on the ground in front of him, vowing to carry out “the first operation” in Australia.

Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25, were allegedly set to carry out their plan on Tuesday, but were thwarted at the 11th-hour when police raided their western Sydney home.

Neither of the men appeared in court on Thursday, but their lawyer Deone Provera said a bail application would be made at a later date.

The video is likely to be used by prosecutors to fight an expected bail application, to be heard at Central Local Court in Sydney on March 16.

Urgent review needed

The comments came as further details also emerged of how the two men came to be in Australia, prompting Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to order an urgent review.

AAP

Mohammad Kiad (left) and Omar Al-Kutobi have been charged with planning to undertake an imminent terrorist attack. Photo: AAP

Al-Kutobi, from Iraq, is believed to have arrived in Australia in 2009 using another person’s passport, and was given a protection visa before being granted citizenship in 2013.

Kiad entered Australia in 2012.

Mr Dutton said he had been advised one of the suspects might have flown to Australia with false documentation in 2009.

He said there were about 50,000 people who also arrived on boats around that time, hampering intelligence agencies’ ability to check every person thoroughly.

Al-Kutobi, however, arrived by plane.

“If the system is being overwhelmed by tens of thousands of people coming by boat, it doesn’t matter if they come by boat or plane, it’s pretty hard for the security agencies to conduct the thorough searches they need to conduct,” Mr Dutton said on Thursday.

There are dozens of Australians in Syria and Iraq fighting with Islamic State.

But defence officials said on Thursday that the terror group’s march in Iraq had been halted, prompting Islamic State – also known as Daesh – to throw raw recruits into the battlefront.

Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral David Johnston said Daesh was losing its fighting capability and effectiveness and was increasingly turning to home-made bombs and suicide bombers.

with AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.