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Australia: Major Terror Attack Averted in Melbourne

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Printed Date: 01/17/2017 at 12:16pm


Topic: Australia: Major Terror Attack Averted in Melbourne

Posted By: Ron McGatlin
Subject: Australia: Major Terror Attack Averted in Melbourne
Date Posted: 12/29/2016 at 8:14am

Australia: Major Terror Attack Averted in Melbourne

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 07:25 PM PST


-- plus, Australian Christian Lobby's Canberra headquarters bombed
by Elizabeth Kendal

On the morning of Friday 23 December, some 400 heavily armed police raided homes in five of Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-23/police-foil-alleged-ch ristmas-day-'terrorist-plot'-in-melbourne/8143762 - Explosive Christmas Day attack planned, ABC
bottom left: Flinders Street Station.
top left: St Paul's Cathedral
right: Federation Square
The raids were the culmination of weeks of intensive investigations and monitoring by Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, and ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation).

Seven suspected Islamic terrorists were arrested. Of the five being held in custody, four are Australian-born of Lebanese descent, while a fifth is an Egyptian-born Australian citizen. Chief Commissioner http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/police-raid s-in-flemington-melbourne/news-story/29d79743e00bd61ce1 d6fc03930cd537?%20utm_source=The%20Australian&utm_medium =email&utm_campaign=editorial - Graham Ashton described them as “self-radicalised . . . [but] inspired by ISIS and ISIS propaganda”.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/seven-arrested-as-police-f oil-planned-christmas-day-terror-attack-in-melbourne-2016122 2-gtgz90.html - According to reports, the terror plotters were preparing to attack Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station, St Paul’s Cathedral and Federation Square using Improvised Explosive Devices and other weapons such as guns and knives, most likely on Christmas Day.

Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin said this event had concerned him “more than any other” over the past few years. “They had moved very quickly from an intention to a capability and developed capability, including quite progressed plans, we will allege,” Mr Colvin said.

“We’ve heard about Federation Square, we’ve heard about the Flinders Street train station and St Paul’s Cathedral. We believe that they were narrowing down exactly what their plan was, but that’s all in one very small part of Melbourne’s CBD.”

Australian Prime Minister http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-23/police-foil-alleged-ch ristmas-day-'terrorist-plot'-in-melbourne/8143762 - Malcolm Turnbull described it as "one of the most substantial terrorist plots that have been disrupted [in Australia] in recent years".

Christmas services will continue at the cathedral as planned, albeit under heightened security. “We will be alert, but not afraid,” said Dean of St Paul’s, Dr Andreas Loewe. “We thank the police and ASIO for their excellent work.”

Meanwhile in Canberra

Just days earlier, on the evening of Wednesday 21 December, a van loaded with multiple gas canisters was driven at speed into the headquarters of the http://www.acl.org.au/ - Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) , in the heart of the Australian capital, Canberra. The driver then ignited the canisters, triggering a massive explosion. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/van-drove-into-aust ralian-christian-lobbys-canberra-headquarters-and-exploded-2 0161221-gtg6et.html - The blast blew out the widows and ignited a fire, resulting in significant damage. Fortunately no-one was working inside the building at the time.

Canberra headquarters of the Australian Christian Lobby
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-22/australian-christian-l obby-headquarters-rammed-by-burning-van/8140804 - report, includes videos: ABC (22 Dec 2016)
A conservative Christian lobby group which lobbies for religious freedom and pro-family values, ACL has received multiple death threats during the course of the year, mostly for its reasoned defence of traditional marriage.

The driver survived the attack and after presenting at a Canberra hospital with severe burns, was flown to Sydney for specialist burns treatment. The police are not releasing the bomber’s name, only that he is “an Australian citizen”. While Canberra police have launched an investigation, they have already publicly asserted that the attack was not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated, something ACL Managing Director http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-22/australian-christian-l obby-headquarters-rammed-by-burning-van/8140804 - Lyle Shelton finds difficult to swallow. "I think something of this nature, that appears to be so deliberate, is an attack against the sort of things that we've been saying in the public square," he told ABC radio. Mr Shelton said he bore the bomber no malice, but was praying for his recovery and for his family.

-------------------------------------

Elizabeth Kendal is international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF), and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See w http://ww.elizabethkendal.com/ - ww.ElizabethKendal.com





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