SYDNEY, August 22, 2009 – Australia's government designated a Somali extremist group with links to al-Qaida as a terrorist organization on Friday, just weeks after several men allegedly associated with the group were charged with planning a suicide attack on an Australian military base.

Al-Shabaab, which is already listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, ''has prepared, planned and carried out frequent attacks as part of its violent insurgency since the beginning of 2007,'' Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement announcing the designation.

The terror listing means it is illegal to be a member, provide funds or associate with the group.

Earlier this month, five men linked by police to al-Shabaab were charged in an alleged plot to shoot up an Australian military base. The men -- all Australian citizens with Somali and Lebanese origins -- were charged with conspiring to plan a terrorist attack.

Police allege the group planned to send a team of men with automatic rifles on a suicide attack against Holsworthy Barracks, an army base on the outskirts of Sydney that houses commandos trained in counterterrorism, a Black Hawk helicopter squadron and thousands of regular troops. They said the men planned to keep on shooting until they were killed.

Police said the men were linked to al-Shabaab and were trying to find a senior cleric who would approve the operation so they could become martyrs.

Al-Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed transitional government and impose a strict form of Islam. It has claimed responsibility for several high-profile bombings and shootings in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, targeting Ethiopian troops and Somali government officials.

Washington has designated al-Shabaab as a terrorist group and says it has provided safe havens to al-Qaida ''elements'' wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 236 people. The two groups have long been suspected of working together, but have not announced a formal alliance.

Source: AP, August 21, 2009

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives | Search