ISIS behind Australian terror plot to bring down a plane and launch gas attack

It was reported at the end of July that four terror suspects had been arrested in Sydney, Australia on suspicion of planning to blow up a plane flying out of the country. More details have now come out, which reveal a senior member of ISIS was behind the plans to bomb an Etihad plane and to launch a toxic chemical gas attack in a public place in Australia.

An ISIS leader gave instructions on potential attacks

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said in a media statement that a senior ISIS member had been behind plans to blow up an Etihad plane out of Sydney, Australia and that parts for the bomb had been sent to the terror suspects from Turkey. The terror suspects had also been instructed by ISIS on how to construct the bomb, using “military-grade explosives,” concealed in a suitcase. The explosives were hidden inside a meat mincer in the suitcase, which arrived, undetected, at Sydney airport on July 15.

Plans to blow up an Etihad plane

Last month 49-year-old Khaled Mahmoud Khayat of Lakemba in Sydney was arrested after he was suspected of attempting to blow up an Etihad plane which was to fly from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. His brother, Amer Khayat, unknowingly carried that suitcase into Sydney airport. However, Sydney police foiled the plot before the suitcase bomb could be detonated.

‘Most sophisticated’ plot on Australian soil

Calling the terror plot one of the most “sophisticated” ever attempted on Australian soil, Phelan said not only did they stop the plane bomb attack, but they also stopped the use of an intended “chemical dispersion device.” Phelan said messages between the ISIS leader and the suspects in Sydney detail which chemicals to use in the device, the best combinations to use and how to do the most damage with the lethal gas in a confined space.

Tip-off led to terror plans being foiled

Both plans were foiled after Sydney police received a tip-off on July 26, leading to the arrest of the four terror suspects on July 29. Khayat and his other brother, 32-year-old Mahmoud, have both been charged with terrorism offenses and were denied bail. Both are due back in court on November 14 where they could face life imprisonment.

Of the other two terror suspects arrested on July 29, Khaled Merhi, the Khayats’ brother-in-law, remains in custody as police continue to question him, while his brother Abdul Merhi has since been released without charge.