Australian IS recruits 'ready' to go to Syia before terror raids
Fourteen Australian IS recruits were "ready to go to Syria" to "further their radicalisation" at the time pre-dawn raids took place across the country in September, according to new reports.
A senior United States congressman made the revelation around an alleged IS terror plot that lead to the raids taking place.
On September 18, news of an imminent terror attack on the streets of Sydney emerged after hundreds of armed state and federal police conducted raids at homes in Sydney and Brisbane.
The foiled terror plot involved the kidnapping and public beheading a member of the public and had been developed through communication with a senior IS recruiter in the Middle East.
US House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers told FOX News today despite the 14 Australians being ready to go to Syria, they were told by IS to stay in Australia.
"No, No. What we want you to do, stay in Australia. We want you to randomly kidnap people off the street, behead them, videotape it, send it to us for further propaganda," Rogers said.
Earlier this week in the US, the Department of Homeland Security increased security at 9500 federal buildings and Rogers made a link between the alleged Australian beheading plan and the reason for the security increase in the US.
"They wanted to have a high-profile event in a Western country," he said.
"They wanted to show that they could reach out and strike a Western country, which is why we believe now you see all of this activity — Canada, the United States, across Europe, Germany, France, Spain, because they’re actively working at trying to find an event that happens in a Western country that they can take credit for."
