A group of teenagers accused of planning a terror attack in the days after the Wakeley church stabbing called themselves “soldiers of Allah” and were prepared to “die and kill”, according to police.
Four middle-aged boys were arrested in anti-terror attacks in Sydney’s west last Wednesday. They included a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds.
The arrests came eight days after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a Wakeley church in the city’s south-west, sparking street riots on April 15.
According to a police document tendered to the court, the four teenagers were planning a terrorist attack after the street riots in Wakeley. The Daily Telegraph reported.
The alleged terror plot involved talking about acquiring weapons including a ‘shotty’ (shotgun) and searching for empty houses to be used as storage space.
Police arrested seven youths from Sydney’s south-west in alleged counter-terrorism raids on Wednesday
A group of four men had their communications intercepted, revealing a plot for a terrorist attack
Police also claimed that the teens had communicated that they were willing to die in the name of religious martyrdom.
On April 20, five days after the alleged Wakeley stabbing and rioting, one of the 17-year-olds wrote on the app Signal: “I want to die and I want to kill… I’m just excited.”
His 16-year-old co-defendant responded, “We’re going to kill DW… but we need patience.”
The 17-year-old responded, “Is your plan to get caught, die or escape?”
The 16-year-old replied: “We have been planning for a while now… we prefer to escape, but whatever happens… it is the qadr (power) of Allah.”
Police claimed in the court documents that this conversation showed there was an agreement to plan a terrorist attack as part of an ideological cause.
On another day, the 16-year-old allegedly wrote online that the teenagers were the “soldiers of Allah.”
On April 19, both the 17-year-old and 16-year-old boys allegedly communicated about purchasing guns, including a “shotty” and purchasing two to three “dirty guns” for $2,000 – $4,000.
The boys are also said to have discussed who their targets were in the messages intercepted by police.
The 15-year-old was part of a Signal chat group called “Plans” on April 19, in which the teens allegedly discussed planning a terrorist act.
One of the teens called the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel his ‘buddy’
The 15-year-old allegedly wrote: “I really want to target the yahood (Jewish people)… we will plan it.”
The teenager also allegedly wrote: ‘I want to do jihad now’ and ‘Where do you want to do bayah’.
Bayah in Islamic terminology is an oath or pledge of allegiance to a leader.
The police fact sheet also includes alleged discussions the teens had about the riots in Wakeley following the alleged church stabbing.
The teens called themselves “soldiers of Allah” and one said he wanted to target Jewish people
The 15-year-old posted an Instagram story praising the boy who allegedly stabbed Bishop Emmanuel, police claim.
The teenager allegedly wrote to an employee: ‘I know the guy who did it, he’s my mate.’
Discussing the riots, the 15-year-old is said to have written: ‘It’s going to be Cronulla riots again.’
The police fact sheet also states that two days before the April 24 raids, the 15-year-old and one of the 17-year-olds were arrested over an unrelated alleged attack in Lurnea.
At that time, the 16-year-old wrote a letter to the other 17-year-old, who had not been arrested.
“Did you forget we have plans on (his) phone?” He wrote.
“Oh shit,” the 17-year-old wrote.
The 16-year-old then reportedly said, “We were planning big things, bro. It’s a conspiracy for… a conspiracy for a terrorist attack I think… If their phone is searched, we’re all gone… yeah, we’re gone, because. For planning attacks and all that, we’re out, buddy.’
Police searched the 17-year-old’s phone after the alleged attack on Lurnea and reportedly found a note on his phone discussing the terror plot.
“There is still much to plan, brothers… now consider yourselves as soldiers… you are not children, you are ions of the khilafah and there is a correct way to prepare these things,” he wrote.
All four teenagers were arrested in the raids last Wednesday.
No one has yet entered pleas and remains in court.
Two other youths were arrested but not charged.
The raids were carried out following the attack on the bishop in Wakeley
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb shared this Sky News Sunday that the four indicted teens were allegedly planning further attacks
Officers are working ‘around the clock’ to determine the nature of these attacks in what is ‘still a live investigation’.
Police initially believed the boy accused of the alleged attack was a ‘lone wolf’ attack, before further investigation shed more light.
“Ongoing investigations have revealed links to that individual and we have arrested five young men. They are related to him, but not necessarily related to the incident at the church,” Chief Webb said.
She also explained the connections between the young people.
“Well, there are certainly some similarities in terms of their school, not exclusively… they live close to each other and are connected in other ways,” she said.
“That’s what we will allege in court … we have alleged in the facts that there was a group that was planning a future event.”
The commissioner revealed some teenagers attended the same school in Sydney’s west and allegedly had images of beheadings on their phones.
“Those images have unfortunately been circulating for years, but it is of great concern to us where we have young people with those images on their phones,” Commissioner Webb said.