Police in the west Australian city of Perth have arrested an Iraqi national for allegedly conspiring to commit an attack in Iraq, Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said. Keelty said the 40-year-old man had been living in Australia "for a number of years" and would face court later Friday charged with conspiracy to murder under Western Australian legislation. "The allegations which will be put before the court in Perth later this morning Perth time will relate to activities that the person undertook in Australia to do with an offence that would have occurred -- had it been carried out -- in Iraq," Keelty told Channel Nine television.
The alleged murder plot targeted a person related to the former ruling Baath Party of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Keelty said, adding that further details would be revealed at the Perth court hearing. Prime Minister John Howard declined to comment on the case but says it illustrated that terrorism remained a threat in Australia. "It is a reminder that the terrorist threat is alive and well and we have no reason to imagine that things of a serious nature could not occur in Australia," Howard said in a radio interview. "I've said that repeatedly. I hope I'm wrong, I hope it never does happen, we all hope it never happens. We cannot afford to be complacent," he said. |