Mother faces terror charges after arrest at Sydney Airport
A mother-of-four will face court in Sydney next month on charges of supporting terrorism after being arrested while trying to leave the country with her four young children.
The 29-year-old woman was charged as a result of a counter-terrorism operation that focuses on foreign incursions, an Australian Federal Police (AFP) spokesman said.
Detectives from the NSW joint counter-terrorism team stopped the woman, claimed to be Fatima Elomar, at Sydney airport on May 3 as she tried to board an international flight with her children.
Three properties, two in Sydney and one in Brisbane, were raided as part of Operation Duntulm.
The woman is believed to be the wife of Mohamed Elomar, who is reportedly fighting in Syria.
A lawyer for the Elomar family denied claims that Elomar is fighting in Syria, and told the ABC that someone else is operating a Facebook page that contains his photos.
The ABC suggested that Mohamed Elomar is using the Facebook alias, Abuhafs al Australi, which appears to show an allegiance with terror group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
"Whosoever dies without participating in an expedition (jihad) nor having the intention to do so, dies on a branch of hypocrisy," one entry reportedly says.
Mohamed Elomar on Facebook under the alias Abuhafs al Australi, according to the ABC. Photo: Facebook
Terror expert Professor Greg Barton told the ABC that Elomar could be involved in more than activism, which he says is worrying.
"The sort of radicalisation process that he has experienced, the skills that he has learnt, a new phase of global terrorism that we haven't seen the like of before," Professor Barton said.
She was charged at Mascot Police Station, near Sydney Airport, under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 with supporting incursions into a foreign state with the intention of engaging in hostile activities.
She's due to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on June 2.
It's believed the woman was living in Brisbane at the time of her arrest but her husband is believed to be from Sydney.
Mohamed Elomar's uncle, also named Mohamed, was jailed for plotting to blow up a Sydney army base and his brother Ahmed is due to be sentenced for his role in the 2012 Hyde Park riot.
In January, a young Sydney couple believed to be by members of the Free Syrian Army, were killed in a house in Aleppo.
Amira Karroum, 22, grew up on the Gold Coast and listed her occupation on Facebook as "Slave of Allah".
Her husband Yusaf Ali, also 22, was reportedly recruited to fight the Assad regime for Al Qaeda and its affiliate Jabh at al Nusra.
It's understood Karroum told her family in Queensland just before Christmas that she was leaving Sydney for Denmark to take on a humanitarian role.
Amira Karroum, 22, who grew up on the Gold Coast was killed in Syria in January. Photo: Supplied
