The chance discovery of a caravan laden with explosives and apparently intended to target Jewish Australians in a “mass casualty event” has confirmed fears of a major escalation in anti-Semitic violence. Source: The Australian.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed the full might of Australia’s counter-terrorism forces will be deployed to meet the threat.
More than 100 police have been thrown into the investigation after the caravan was found on the outskirts of Sydney packed with Powergel explosives suspected to have been stolen from a mine site and containing a note with the addresses of Jewish targets.
Last night, NSW Police scrambled to defend staying silent on the “very serious threat” for more than a week before it leaked to Sydney’s media, saying investigations required “anonymity”, while NSW Premier Chris Minns labelled the incident as “terrorism”.
Police confirmed they had found and taken into custody on January 19 a caravan dumped on the side of a road in Dural, a semi-rural suburb about 40km northwest of Sydney.
The explosives found in the caravan had enough force to create a blast zone with a 40m diameter, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said yesterday.
Deputy Commissioner Hudson would not reveal details of the intended targets but said the Jewish community had been kept informed of developments.
Mr Minns pledged a “massive” response, with the Joint Counter Terrorism Team mobilised, comprising officers from the AFP, NSW Police Force, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and NSW Crime Commission.
He said that while it would be on the call of police, he said there was only “one way” of describing the incident: “terrorism”.
“That’s what we’re very worried about … It would strike terror in the community, particularly the Jewish, and it must be met with the full force of the police and government,” he said.
FULL STORY
Caravan packed with explosives set for Sydney synagogue risked ‘mass casualty event’ (By Alexi Demetriadi, The Australian)
