Untitled Document
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Australian troops patrol the
streets of Samawa in southern Iraq. Australian intelligence officers are
studying a video broadcast on Arab television showing a masked militant
with an apparently Australian accent making terror threats |
Australian intelligence officers are studying a video broadcast on Arab television
showing a masked militant with an apparently Australian accent making terror threats,
officials said.
The video, shown on Australian television after reportedly being aired on Dubai-based
Al-Arabiya television, shows the man holding an automatic rifle and warning
of attacks while criticising British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President
Geoge W. Bush.
"The honourable sons of Islam will not just let you kill our families
in Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir and the Balkans, Indonesia, the Caucuses
and elsewhere," the militant says in what local media said appeared to
be an Australian accent.
"It is time for us to be equals. As you kill us, you'll be killed. As
you bomb us, you will be bombed."
The masked man, wearing a black balaclava and combat gear, claims a group of
Al Qaeda "fighters" carried out an attack on a helicopter that killed
16 soldiers in Afghanistan in June.
The video features blurred footage said to be of a rocket attack on the helicopter.
A spokeswoman for the attorney-general's office said the Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation was "looking at the footage very carefully".
The Australian government is debating tougher security laws and action against
anyone encouraging militancy amid fears that Australia could be the target of
attacks similar to those that killed more than 50 people in London last month.
Australia contributed troops to the US-led invasions of both Afghanistan and
Iraq.
