- i24news
- International
- Israel helped Australia thwart ISIS terror attack on flight
Israel helped Australia thwart ISIS terror attack on flight
The same unit also prevented cyber attack by Iran directed against private and public organizations in Israel
Israel’s elite military unit helped Australia prevent an Islamic State (ISIS) plane terror attack in July, 2017 that aimed to target an Etihad Airways flight in July 2017.
The ISIS plot was in its last stages of preparations before Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate's (MID) Unit 8200 informed the Australian authorities of the planned attack, leading to the arrest of two suspects -- Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat -- within 48 hours of an Israeli officer’s ascertaining the information that reportedly saved dozens of lives.
"The cooperation with the Israeli intelligence community allowed for the transfer of information to the local security authorities and led to the arrest of the suspects, who were in the advanced stages of preparations and close to executing the attack. The foiling of the attack led to saving dozens of innocent lives and demonstrates that Unit 8200 is a player in the intelligence battle against Islamic State,” the IDF statement read.
The bomb was reportedly home-made from military explosives sent from Turkey, under the order of a high commander of ISIS in Syria.
While the prevention of the attack was already known, it has only come to light now that the security agency responsible for informing the Australian authorities was in fact Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) elite intelligence unit.
One of the suspects had reportedly brought the bomb in luggage hidden inside a meat mincer, according to Reuters, that he had asked his unknowing brother to take on the flight, but it never made it past security check.
Though the details were unclear, Israeli media reported that the suspect never passed off the explosive suitcase to his brother, who ended up boarding the flight without it.
At the time, the Daily Mail Australia reported that the country was "frightfully" close to experiencing the biggest terror attack in its history, threatening the lives of hundreds in a plot to to blow up a commercial flight en route from Sydney to the Middle East.
In addition to thwarting the airline attack, Israel’s MID, in collaboration with the Defense Division of the Communications Division, succeeded in preventing a cyber attack by Iran, which was directed against private and public bodies in Israel.
The attack was reportedly blocked as a result of the unit's close monitoring of the operations of the Iranian offensive and ability to early of attempted attacks in Israel. The units actively led to effective neutralization of the threat.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the Israel Defense Forces for their work in preventing the Australia terror attack while speaking at the Conference of Presidents in Jerusalem, where he addressed leaders of the American Jewish community.
The Israeli intelligence services thwarted the downing of an Australian plane, an unimaginable slaughter. This would have caused a major disruption in global air transport and this is only one of dozens of terrorist attacks we have foiled around the world," Netanyahu said.
He also praised the Jewish State's position as a "world leader in cyber security."