Melbourne threatened in Al Qaeda tape
Sep 12, 2005
Australia is taking seriously a video shown on US television threatening an attack on Melbourne, the government said on Monday, but added it wasn't raising the national threat level from medium to high.
The tape, broadcast on Sunday and purportedly from a US-born member of al Qaeda, threatened Los Angeles and Melbourne on the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said a special taskforce was seeking a copy of the video tape to assess the risk to Australia's second largest city.
"Security agencies are working closely with their overseas counterparts to try and find further information about it," Ruddock told Australian radio on Monday.
"What it demonstrates to me is that we have been targeted in the past, we remain of interest to terrorist organisations. This may or may not be a real threat, it may well be a hoax but that matter has to be seriously examined."
Australia, a strong US ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Melbourne is due to host the 2006 Commonwealth Games next March, which will be opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, another close ally of the US. About 6,000 athletes are expected to take part.
Ruddock said the threat, even if genuine, was not specific enough for the nation's security threat level to be increased from medium, the second-lowest level.
Australia has not been the target of a serious attack but 88 Australians were among 202 people killed in bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali in October, 2002, and the Australian embassy in Jakarta was hit by a suicide bomb in 2004.
http://www.tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/610620
Sep 12, 2005
Australia is taking seriously a video shown on US television threatening an attack on Melbourne, the government said on Monday, but added it wasn't raising the national threat level from medium to high.
The tape, broadcast on Sunday and purportedly from a US-born member of al Qaeda, threatened Los Angeles and Melbourne on the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said a special taskforce was seeking a copy of the video tape to assess the risk to Australia's second largest city.
"Security agencies are working closely with their overseas counterparts to try and find further information about it," Ruddock told Australian radio on Monday.
"What it demonstrates to me is that we have been targeted in the past, we remain of interest to terrorist organisations. This may or may not be a real threat, it may well be a hoax but that matter has to be seriously examined."
Australia, a strong US ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Melbourne is due to host the 2006 Commonwealth Games next March, which will be opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, another close ally of the US. About 6,000 athletes are expected to take part.
Ruddock said the threat, even if genuine, was not specific enough for the nation's security threat level to be increased from medium, the second-lowest level.
Australia has not been the target of a serious attack but 88 Australians were among 202 people killed in bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali in October, 2002, and the Australian embassy in Jakarta was hit by a suicide bomb in 2004.
http://www.tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/610620
