On the morning of 18 September 2014, police in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

carried out the biggest

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

operation in the nation's history, with over 800 heavily armed officers targeting households in the cities of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. It came days after the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

raised the terror threat from medium to high due to concerns about Australian citizens returning to the country after fighting with the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL). Following the raids, two people were charged, one with terrorism offences and the other for possession of an unauthorised firearm. One of the two arrestees became one of only two men on remand at the highest security prison in Australia, as he is considered an "AA" security risk.

Raids

Authorities raided 25 homes in

Bass Hill Bass Hill, () a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydne ...

, Revesby,

Regents Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwe ...

and elsewhere. The raids were triggered after the interception of one phone call. Computers, documents and a firearm were collected during the raid. Fifteen people were detained and eleven people were subsequently charged with terrorism offences.

Allegations

Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

stated that a senior Australian member of ISIL had called for "demonstration killings" including a public beheading. Omarjan Azari, 22, was charged with conspiring to commit these acts. Azari was charged with "attempting to make funds available to a terrorist organization.". Azari is held on Australia's maximum security prison, where he became the first person on remand ever sent there, and there are Federal Court orders "control orders" that prohibit certain people from communicating with him.

Supreme Court trial

Prior to his Supreme Court trial, Azari in December 2015, pled guilty to trying to provide funds to Islamic State. The Supreme Court trial of Azari that had convened in late April 2017 was aborted by a Justice, as some of the accused in the separate 2015 Parramata shooting also figure in the Azari case, and the judge considered the jury may be prejudiced. A new trial for Azari will begin in November 2017.

Motivations

The cancellation of passports of those wanting to fight overseas for extremists causes as well as resentment towards Australia's role in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been raised as possible motivations behind the alleged terrorist planning. After the raids, Imraan Husain, an

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

from the Gold Coast, warned that sending troops to the Middle East could marginalise local Muslim youth, especially those who follow jihadists on social media.

Protest

Between 200 and 400 Muslims in Sydney protested the raids at

Lakemba railway station Lakemba railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Lakemba. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services. History Lakemba station opened on 14 April 1909 when the Bankstown line was extended fr ...

the night after the morning raids. The protesters, organised by

Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...

, cited "police brutality" and "political hysteria". Wassim Doureihi, a prominent member of the group, said "Let me say clearly even if a single bomb went off even if a thousand bombs went off in this country all it will prove is that Muslims are angry."

References