FBI and Australian police cooperate in raid on jihad funding house
THE counter-terrorism police units working with the FBI have dramatically expanded the war against home-grown Islamic extremism, arresting one man accused of bankrolling terror groups operating in Syria and Iraq and signalling that more arrests were on the way.Good to see there's teamwork here, and it's yielded results. But there's still much more that needs to be done in order to stop these monsters.
The FBI helped Australian police track down Melbourne man Hassan El Sabsabi, 23, who was charged yesterday with six counts of intentionally making funds available to a terrorist organisation, including Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS and ISIL.
Mr El Sabsabi is accused of sending $12,000 to an American citizen now fighting in Syria and of being part of a sophisticated network to funnel money to Islamic State and another notorious terrorist group, the al-Qa’ida-aligned Jabhat al-Nusra.
Police raided seven properties across Melbourne’s west and north amid fears of a broad campaign of fundraising.
The early-morning raids and arrest is the first known counter- terrorism strike of its kind with FBI co-operation and is the result of an eight-month investigation.
Labels: Australia, Iraq, islam, jihad, syria, terrorism, United States, war on terror