Two failed terror plots to blow up a passenger jet and release a toxic gas in Australia were inspired and directed by a senior ISIS controller in Syria, Australian police said Friday.Components for the bomb were sent to Sydney from Turkey, as part of what Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan described Friday as “one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil.”After their arrest on July 29, two Sydney men, Khaled Khayat, 49, and Mahmoud Khayat, 32, were charged Thursday night with terror offenses for plotting the attacks. Under guidance from an ISIS controller, police say, the men built a functioning bomb that they’d planned to use to blow up an Etihad Airways flight on July 15.But when they failed to get it past airport security in Sydney, they allegedly switched their focus to building a device to release poisonous hydrogen sulfide in a public place, before the plot was foiled when they were arrested.Phelan said the plot began in April, when one of the men allegedly began communicating with an unnamed ISIS controller in Syria, who instructed them how to build a functioning IED, disguised as a meat mincer, using components imported from Turkey. The man had been put in touch with the ISIS controller by one of his brothers, who is a fighter for the terror group in Syria.On July 15, Khaled Khayat allegedly accompanied another unnamed brother of his to Sydney airport, where the brother was about to board an Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi. Police say Khayat didn’t succeed in checking in the bag containing the bomb, and took it home with him, while his brother – who police say was unaware of the plot – boarded the plane.The pair and their ISIS controller then allegedly turned their focus to building a device to disperse hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas that is deadly in high concentrations – in a public place. Phelan said the men had acquired precursor chemicals and other components but “were a long way from having a functional device” when they were arrested.The arrests reportedly came about after U.S. and British intelligence tipped off Australian authorities on July 26 after picking up chatter about the plot. Four men, including the Khayats, were arrested three days later; one has been released without charge and the other remains in custody. Security has been stepped up at all Australian airports in response.Since Australia’s national terrorism threat level was raised in September 2014, the country has seen five terror attacks and 13 foiled plots. About 220 Australians have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS and other jihadi groups, according to the Australian Security Intelligence Organization. About 40 have returned – some of whom are believed to pose a continued threat – about 70 have been killed, and the rest are still believed to be fighting there.Cover: A file photo of an Etihad Airways plane at Minsk International Airport. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
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