'Potential mass casualty event' foiled in Australia as police find explosives alongside list of Jewish targets
'Potential mass casualty event' foiled in Australia as police find explosives alongside list of Jewish targets
Share:
Australian police say they have foiled a planned antisemitic attack after discovering a caravan containing explosives alongside a list of Jewish targets. Police found enough explosives to make a bomb with a blast of around 130ft (40m) hidden in a caravan in the Sydney suburb of Dural on 19 January, New South Wales deputy police commissioner David Hudson told a news conference on Wednesday.
The substance discovered was Powergel, an explosive which is often used in the mining industry. Officers also found a list of Jewish targets, which Mr Hudson refused to identify but said the relevant members of the community have been made aware. Mr Hudson said it marked a dangerous "escalation" in a campaign of antisemitic arson and graffiti incidents in major cities in recent months.
It follows an arson attack on Melbourne's Adass Israel Synagogue in December which injured one person and caused extensive damage - and a childcare centre being set alight in east Sydney on 21 January. "This is certainly an escalation. The use of explosives ... have the potential to cause a great deal of damage," Mr Hudson said.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns confirmed counterterrorism authorities are investigating. "This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event. There's only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism. That's what we're very worried about," he said.
