Aussie teen Jihad 'planned Melbourne bomb and knife attacks'

A Melbourne schoolboy who reportedly died in a suicide mission on behalf of Islamic State detailed plans to carry out bombings and knife attacks in Australia.

The terror group released a photograph of 18-year-old Jake Bilardi last night, claiming he had carried out a deadly attack in Iraq's war-torn Anbar Province.

A blog reportedly written by the teenager has since emerged revealing his plans to launch bomb attacks in Melbourne if he was stopped from entering Syria.

The post, From Melbourne to Ramadi: My Journey, is believed to have been written under Bilardi's pseudonym, Abu Abdullah al-Australi, from Anbar's capital of Ramadi on January 13.

It provides an insight into the intentions behind the teenager's radicalisation to Islam and his disdain for the Western world.

He also describes how he began collecting explosives to launch an attack on home soil before leaving Australian shores to join the terror group.

Victoria Police has since confirmed the teenager's family discovered a series of improvised explosive devices at their Craigieburn home and alerted authorities.

Following the discovery, Australian authorities began attempting to monitor Bilardi's activities in the Middle East.

According to the post, Bilardi had dreamed of becoming a political journalist and his eldest brother's 'deep interest in international politics grabbed his attention from a young age'.

"In fact the first time I ever heard the words 'Al Qaeda' and 'Osama bin Laden', they came from his mouth, but as I know he is unhappy with me being here, I can confirm for his sake that, no, he did not 'radicalise' me."

The blog said as Bilardi's love of politics grew he went on to do his own research, intrigued by the ideology behind Islamic groups such as Al Qaeda and the portrayal of "Taliban brutality" by Australian media.

"Still, as an Atheist of only 13 years of age I couldn't believe everything I was seeing and hearing, my views of the Muslims were very positive and when it came to organisations such as the Taliban, my views almost six years ago would be considered by the Australian government as extreme and myself an Islamic extremist, although I was still an Atheist, a little confusing I know."

"I saw the Taliban as simply a group of proud men seeking to protect their land and their people from an invading force, while I did not necessarily agree with their ideology, their actions were in my opinion completely justified.

"... It was from my investigations into the invasions and occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan that gave birth to my disdain for the United States and its allies, including Australia.

"It was also the start of my respect for the mujahideen that would only grow to develop into a love of Islam and ultimately bring me here to the Islamic State."

The turning point for Bilardi was his realisation of a democratic system which "focuses heavily on providing the people with so-called freedom", according to the blog post.

"The reality of democracy became clear to me, place in people's mind the idea of freedom and convince them that they are a free people while oppressing them behind the scenes."

"On top of this the Western world throws celebrities and false reality into the spotlight to distract the people from what is really going on in the world, hence the widespread political ignorance among Westerners.

"This was the turning point in my ideological development as it signalled the beginning of my complete hatred and opposition to the entire system Australia and the majority of the world was based upon.

"It was also the moment I realised that violent global revolution was necessary to eliminate this system of governance and that it I would likely be killed in this struggle."

Bilardi started researching religions and found Islam "shockingly consistent with established historical and scientific facts", the blog post said.

It said after a brief period of throwing aside "the beliefs I had held so strongly", Bilardi's views were rekindled through reading the Koran.

The post mentioned a "Plan B" in case of "possible attempts by the increasingly intrusive authorities in Australia to prevent my departure".

"This plan involved launching a string of bombings across Melbourne, targeting foreign consulates and political/military targets as well as grenade and knife attacks on shopping centres and cafes and culminating with myself detonating a belt of explosives amongst the kuffar."

"As I began collecting materials for the explosives and prepared to start making the devices I realised that the authorities were oblivious to my plans but if anything was to attract their attention it would be my purchasing of chemicals and other bomb-making materials and so I ceased the planning of Plan B and sat waiting until everything was prepared and I could exit the country undetected."

The post ends with Bilardi purportedly describing his entrance to the Islamic State group and signing himself up for martyrdom.

Seven News has not been able to independently verify the claims, but, there were suicide attacks in the area - 13 of them, in fact.

The attack was possibly in retaliation for Iraqi government forces recapturing large parts of the city of Tikrit.

In December, a photo of Jake began circulating on social media showing him kneeling in front of an Islamic State flag.

In an interview with a BBC Newsnight reporter Bilardi reportedly said he wanted to carry out a suicide attack and become a martyr.

He told reporter Secunder Kermani: "I've been waiting for almost one month now and I'm next to go so inshallah [God willing] it'll be soon.

"I came here chasing death, I might as well kill as many kuffar (infidels) as I can."
Earlier, foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she did not want to comment on whether Bilardi was involved in planning an attack in Australia.

"These are matters we are currently seeking to confirm, and once I've had a briefing from our agencies on these issues, I will make a comment on it," she said.

Ms Bishop said she had been aware of Bilardi's presence in the Middle East for a number of months, however could not confirm whether the teenager had been killed in a suicide mission.

"Indeed, we are aware that he travelled overseas last August," she said.

"In October, on the advice of our security agencies, I cancelled his Australian passport."

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"The Australian Government is currently attempting to independently verify reports that an 18-year-old Melbourne teenager Jake Bilardi has been killed in a suicide bombing attack.

"If these reports are confirmed, this is another tragic example of a young Australian being lured to a senseless and violent death by a brutal terrorist organisation that is intent on imposing suffering and misery, not only in Iraq and Syria but beyond.

"This is a tragic story. We believe there are currently 90 Australian citizens in Iraq or Syria supporting ISIL or Daesh and we understand at least 20 Australian's have been killed in this conflict.

"All up 100 passports have been cancelled on National security grounds.

"We will continue to urge young Australians not to fall victim of this brutal terrorist organisation and to not be lured into believing they are embarking on some adventure or some romantic endeavour."

Twitter has been awash with tweets from supporters of the Islamic State with lots of people posting pictures of Bilardi who took the Muslim name Abu Abdullah al Australi saying he took part in the suicide bombing.

The teenager's true identity was revealed earlier this week.

Bilardi took to Twitter since his identity was revealed and told a reporter that IS were planning an attack that will make 9/11 'look like child's play', reports The Australian newspaper.

He wrote: “What we have in store for you dogs will make 9/11 look like child’s play."

The paper reports Twitter suspended Bilardi’s ­account late yesterday.

His aunt Connnie Bilardi told News Corp that the teenager, described as an 'outsider' by school mates, privately converted to Islam.

Jake was reportedly living with his siblings before he left Melbourne to join IS.

His family were said to be ‘worried sick’ about him but have been in touch with him over social media.

The maths genius appeared in an IS picture on Twitter in December and was identified by Fairfax Media.

Classmate Ulus Shefket, who was in the same year as Jake at school, said: "He was quiet and barely had any friends. Whenever you tried to joke with him he would react aggressively," reports Daily Mail Australia.

Another former schoolmate Josh Green-Mercier said: "He always looked depressed and was always looking down.

'He never communicated unless it was to do with culture and beliefs or math, he always listened to our conversations.

"Not many people knew him and he never opened himself up."