Two men accused of terrorism-related offences remanded in custody

Updated

The older brother of Australia's suspected first suicide bomber and a co-accused have been remanded in custody after being charged with terrorism-related offences in Queensland's south-east.

Agim Kruezi, 21, from Boronia Heights, and Omar Succarieh, 31, from Kuraby, both south of Brisbane, briefly appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning.

Kruezi faced five charges, including unlawfully possessing a sawn-off .22 calibre semi-automatic firearm.

A detailed charge sheet also showed he allegedly recruited people for the Islamic State jihadist group between July 2013 and September 2014 to fight in Syria and Iraq.

Succarieh, brother of Abu Asma al Australi who is suspected of being the first Australian suicide bomber to die in Syria, faced three charges.

They included making funds available to Jabhat al-Nusra, which was linked to Al Qaeda, between August 2013 and September 2014.

He also allegedly prepared for "incursions into foreign state" between February 2014 and March 2014, and unlawfully possessed a growth hormone.

The pair were remanded in custody until their next court appearance on October 17.

They were arrested yesterday after a 12-month counter terrorism operation involving federal and Queensland police.

Anti-terrorism officers carried out nine simultaneous raids, including at the iQraa Islamic Centre at Underwood, south of Brisbane.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said there was no evidence an attack was being planned in Australia.

But he alleged there was evidence of terrorism-related activity.

"There was sufficiency of evidence to progress and this was not a hasty decision and due to public safety concerns we really had no option but to proceed," he said.

"Australians travelling offshore to engage in, or support terrorist activities or conflict present a significant threat to Australia’s national security, both in foreign countries and upon their return to Australia."

The raids came a day after the head of Australia's domestic spy agency, David Irvine, said the country's official terror threat level could be upgraded in the coming days.

ASIO's director-general told the ABC's 7.30 on Tuesday the threat had been building in Australia over the past year and he had an "elevated level of concern".

The Federal Government has confirmed the threat of a terrorist attack in Australia has moved "above moderate" because of the involvement of Australians in the Middle East war zone.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said the Islamic community should not be blamed for the alleged activities of a few individuals.

"Now more than ever I call on Queenslanders to show the tolerance and friendship for which we're all renowned," he said.

"This is not about a religion, this is about people who are allegedly involved in planning criminal acts."

Topics: courts-and-trials, crime, terrorism, logan-central-4114, kuraby-4112, boronia-heights-4124, syrian-arab-republic

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