OPERATION NEATH CONTINUES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000096 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO HOMELAND SECURITY E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019 TAGS: PTER PINR PREL KVPR AS SUBJECT: OPERATION NEATH CONTINUES REF: A. MELBOURNE 94 ¶B. MELBOURNE 93 ¶C. MELBOURNE 92 ¶D. MELBOURNE 18 ¶E. 08 MELBOURNE 117 ¶F. 08 MELBOURNE 66 ¶G. 08 CANBERRA 909 Classified By: Justin Kolbeck, Pol/Econ Officer for reasons 1.4(b),(d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (S) Australian authorities continue to investigate additional suspects in Operation "Neath" which led to the arrest and subsequent charging of five Melbourne-based men on terror charges (refs. A-C). At least one more arrest will be forthcoming as law enforcement agencies close the net on Australia's second homegrown terror network. End summary. Operation Continues -------------- ¶2. (S) During an August 11 briefing, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Counter Terrorism Coordinator Damien Appleby and Victoria Police Detective Inspector Andrew Gustke informed Consul General that at least one more arrest in Operation Neath is likely in the very near future. Appleby and Gustke estimate that the August 4 arrests "cut the head off the snake," but they remain concerned about other potential "shooters" who are implicated in plans to attack an Australian defense installation. The AFP is closely watching a sixth Australian citizen who is known to be fighting in Somalia, but they expect that the man may be killed before they are able to exercise a warrant on his return to Australia. (Note: The man is a front-line machine gun operator and often talks of being killed in the Somali conflict. End note.) ¶3. (S) Appleby and Gustke believe that the five men arrested and charged in Operation Neath came closer to actually carrying out an attack than Abdul Nacer Benbrika and his accomplices (refs. D-G) did in 2007-2008. While the five men did not have the capacity to carry out the attack at the time they were arrested, the AFP and Victoria Police believed that the suspects, particularly Lebanese citizen Wissam Mahmoud Fattal (DOB: 06/15/1976),were mentally committed to achieving martyrdom through an attack with or without a fatwah. ¶4. (S) A second man, Saney Edow Aweys (Somali born, Australian citizen, DOB: 5/1/1983) is believed to have been the ringleader with direct access to al Qa'ida East Africa. Yacqub Khayre (Somali born, Australian citizen, DOB: 1/1/1987) has traveled to Somalia and served as the group's liaison with al-Shabaab there. Appleby and Gustke characterized Khayre as a "weakling" who struggled with the harsh day to day life in Somalia and was not fully trusted by the other four men. The AFP believes that Khayre may be turned while in prison to serve as an informant in related cases. The two other men are Nayef El Sayed, Australian citizen born in Australia, (DOB: 2/2/1984) and Somali born, Australian citizen Abdirahman Mohammad Ahmed (citizen, DOB: 7/27/1984). Background from AFP/VicPol -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Operation Neath is a multi-agency investigation into the activities of a Melbourne-based group of extremists, numbering 23 persons of interest. The group is suspected of planning a domestic terrorist attack in Australia; supporting the Islamic insurgency in Somalia (al-Shabaab) through fundraising and other activities; and traveling to Somalia to fight for the Islamic insurgency. The plan involved four to six group members obtaining firearms, entering a military barracks and shooting as many personnel as possible before being shot dead and achieving martyrdom. Not all group members agreed with the plan because of the negative repercussions on Muslim communities in Australia. ¶6. (SBU) The group actively sought a fatwa from a Sheikh in MELBOURNE 00000096 002 OF 002 Somalia on the permissibility of carrying out a terrorist act on a military barracks in Australia. Failing to convince the first Sheikh, a second Sheikh eventually rejected the fatwa on the grounds that such an operation was not permissible because the benefits would be far outweighed by the problems it would create for Australian Muslims. The Sheikh further alluded to the negative impact it would have on the financial support flowing from Australia (total remittances from Australia to Somalia are estimated to be less than US$830,000 per month) to Somalia in support of al-Shabaab. Preston Mosque -------------- ¶7. (S) Appleby and Gustke confirmed that Operation Neath centered on the Preston mosque (Ref. A) where several worshipers were observed stating that they intended to go to Iraq, Afghanistan or East Africa for the "real jihad." The five men met, exercised and watched terror-related videos in the back room of the Preston mosque. Extremists from Lebanese and other middle-eastern extraction were told that they would stand out as "foreign fighters" and were eventually prevented from traveling abroad. Because the Preston mosque is home to both Australia's Mufti, Sheikh Fehmi Naji El Imam as well as the Islamic Society of Victoria, Appleby and Gustke acknowledged that political sensitivities have forced them to keep a close hold on the Preston mosque connection. Comment -------------- ¶8. (S) Our contacts within the AFP and the Victoria Police praise intelligence collaboration between Australia and the United States, but request that more cooperation be carried out between countries with large Somali populations such as Sweden, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Specifically, these contacts appreciate roving witness programs with the FBI and would like to see their application expanded. Positive public relations could be an added benefit of this increased collaboration. THURSTON