Two men have appeared in court in Sydney in connection with what police have described as a sophisticated Islamic State plot to place a bomb on an aircraft.
Police said that the plan to construct a device from military-grade explosives and blow up an Etihad Airlines aircraft, believed an A380 super jumbo, flying from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, was among the most sophisticated terrorist acts ever aimed at Australians.
It was only abandoned at the last minute when staff at the airline’s check-in counter at Sydney airport expressed concern about the weight of the bag containing the improvised explosive device.
Police allege that the bomb was placed in the baggage of one of the plotters’ brothers who had boarded the flight unaware that his own sibling had conspired to kill him and up to 800 fellow passengers on the world’s largest passenger jet last month.
The two men, one aged 49 and one aged 32, both of Middle Eastern background, have each been charged with two counts of preparing a terrorist act. They made a brief appearance at Parramatta court, Sydney, and were refused bail. The next hearing will take place in November.
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Australian police said later that the bomb was made from military-grade explosive sent to Australia by a Syrian-based Isis commander aboard an air cargo flight from Turkey. It was allegedly assembled in Sydney before being placed in the baggage of the unwitting brother.
Police will claim that after the bomb plot failed, the conspirators were ordered by an offshore Isis controller to build a second “chemical dispersal’’ bomb to be used in a confined space.
The second device was never built, although the men acquired the equipment and ingredients for its construction and had begun conducting experiments in Sydney before they were arrested last weekend. One man arrested was released without charge; a fourth remains in police custody.
“This is one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil,” Michael Phelan, deputy commissioner of Australia federal police, said.