Plot for the terror attack at Melbourne in Australia busted; three suspected

Melbourne: A major terror attack plotted to be executed at a crowded location in Melbourne in Australia was busted. Three suspected Muslim youth were arrested on Tuesday early in the morning in a direct action taken by the Australian security agencies and produced before the court. All the three are Australian citizens of Turkish descent, and their passports have been cancelled at the beginning of this year. It has been revealed that these youth plotted the attack,taking inspiration from IS, the terrorist organisation.

Tuesday in the morning, Victoria Police, The Australian Federal Police, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and other agencies carried out a joint operation and raided four locations simultaneously. Two brothers Erntuk Ericlioglu, Samed Ericlioglu along with Hanifi Halis were arrested in the raids carried out under Operation Dubonnet. The security agencies informed that the three had planned to acquire automatic rifles and carry out a terrorist attack at a crowded location in Melbourne.

The security was tracking these three suspects since March. The communication and movements of these three had increased since the terrorist attack on Bourke Street in Melbourne. There is also information that they had even attempted visiting the conflict-torn areas in the Gulf in the last few months. The officers said that the plot busted on Tuesday is the fifteenth major terror plot over the previous four years.

Against this background, Home Minister of Australia, Peter Dutton expressed the opinion that stricter anti-terrorism laws need to be passed. The technology has overstepped the limits of the current anti-terrorism laws. He claimed that therefore, the security agencies are facing difficulty in taking action and also keep an eye on the technology.

The terror attack carried out by a terrorist of Somalian descent on the Bourke Street and the new plot by the Turkish Muslims, busted by the security agencies, may once again bring the issue of immigrants in Australia, in the limelight. Only on Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had indicated imposing curbs on the number of immigrants coming to Australia. At that time, he had said that the number of immigrants is rising in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney and there is a tone of general resentment from the local population.

Australian Prime Minister Morrison clarified that all the provinces should make their recommendations for the new policy and they will be considered for implementation. It was found that there are 70% immigrants in the increased population in the city like Sydney, in the last year. Whereas, 45% of the Australian citizens voted in favour of reducing the number of immigrants coming to Australia.

Australian PM reprimands Islamic leaders

Given the terror attack last week and the foiled terror attack on Tuesday, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reprimanded the Islamic leaders and the religious preachers. Prime Minister Morrison made a statement that the responsibility of the Islamic leaders and religious preachers has increased to ensure that such incidents do not occur, after the successive terror-related incidents.

Upset with the statements of the Australian Prime Minister, a few Islamic leaders have warned about boycotting the meeting called by him. Prime Minister Morrison is infuriated by this stance of the Islamic leaders and has said that they are harming the interest of their own people.

Prime Minister Morrison lambasted the Islamic leaders with harsh words ‘Extremism is a severe problem. Everyone has the responsibility of keeping Australia safe. Efforts are necessary to avoid the spread of extremism in Muslims. This is the reason that I called a meeting with the Islamic leaders to initiate a dialogue. But some of these leaders have taken a stance to boycott the meeting. This is a negative stance, which can make the Muslims more insecure. Those who really want to find a solution to the problem will participate in the meeting.’