A man instructed by ISIL to bring down an Etihad Airways flight tried to use an unsuspecting passenger to carry a bomb on board, with a second poisonous gas plot also in the works, Australian police announced on Friday.
Khaled Khayat, 49, and Mahmoud Khayat, 32, have been charged with two counts of "acts done in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act" and are next due in court on November 14.
The airline confirmed that it has been investigating the incident with Australian authorities.
"Etihad has worked closely with the Australian Federal Police in its investigation into the incident” said an Etihad spokesman.
"The safety and security of our passengers and crew is always Etihad Airways' topmost priority. Working closely with the relevant authorities in each country, Etihad Airways implements the most stringent security measures throughout all of our operations worldwide".
Police claim one of the men planted the bomb in the passenger's luggage. Local reports said the luggage belonged to the man's own, innocent, brother.
"We will be alleging the person who was to carry the improvised explosive device (IED) had no idea they were carrying an IED," said Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan.
"There is a little bit of conjecture as to why it didn't go ahead. It didn't get past the check-in".
“It didn’t get through possibly because the baggage was too heavy, or possibly because the suspects backed out at the last moment” Mr Phelan said.
The second plan was hatched after the first one failed, police alleged, and was not necessarily targeted at a plane.
"They were talking about crowded closed spaces, you know, potentially public transport, and so on, but they got nowhere near making one" said Mr Phelan.
The plot was orchestrated by "a senior member of the Islamic State" based overseas.
Police would not reveal who the ISIL link was but said it will be alleged the men were introduced to him by a relative who is a senior ISIL member in Syria.
The explosives, which originated in Turkey, “were allegedly sent to Australia on a cargo flight and ISIL also provided instructions to build the second device” police said.
The improvised device, using "high military-grade explosive", was due to be smuggled onto a July 15 service from Sydney, but the attempt was aborted before they reached security.
"It is a concern that it got through" said Phelan about the bomb components arriving in Australia through the mail.
“The homemade bomb was fairly well advanced but not enough to be a fully initiated device”.
The details Mr Phelan provided are the first that officials have released since four men were arrested in a series of raids in Sydney last weekend.
The two suspects if found guilty of terrorism charges face life in prison. A third man remains in custody, while a fourth was released earlier this week.
The alleged plot prompted authorities to tighten security at all major international and domestic terminals across Australia.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the impacts "could have been catastrophic".
"I understand that Australians will feel very unnerved about hearing this news and the police allege that we have been the target of a very serious ISIL plot" he said.
"But I do want to remind everyone that this is the 13th time, because of the excellence of our law enforcement agencies, that we have been able to stop a terrorist attack from occurring on Australian soil in the past three years".
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Notable cricketers and political careers
- India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
- Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
- Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
- Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Sanju
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
