Australian plane bomb plotters ‘planned to use meat mincer filled with explosives’


Four Australian-Lebanese men accused of plotting to bring down a plane planned to use poisonous gas or a crude bomb disguised as a meat mincer, reports say.

The men, who were arrested in raids in Sydney on Saturday night, are not thought to be two sets of fathers and sons, despite earlier reports.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph said that police had found a flight number for a Jakarta to Sydney route inside a bin during a search for evidence.

It added that it was not yet known whether the flight number was related to the alleged terror plot.

The group of men reportedly tried to board an international flight previously and failed, causing them to change their target to a domestic flight, according to The Australian newspaper.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph said the idea was to use wood scrapings and explosive material inside a piece of kitchen equipment such as a mincing machine.

The Australian Broadcasting Network said British intelligence reportedly led authorities to arrest the men after it suggested they may have been directed by someone else.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said he would not confirm those reports.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a mincer was being examined, while The Australian cited multiple sources as saying it was a “non-traditional” device that could have emitted a toxic sulphur-based gas, which it said would have killed or immobilised everyone on board.

Read more…

Source: Sky News