Revealed: Australian jihadist received welfare payments MONTHS after he had fled the country to join extremists in the Middle East



It is believed Khaled Sharrouf, from Sydney, was on a disability pension

He continued to receive it for at least two months after he fled Australia



The convicted terrorist left the country on brother's passport in December



On Twitter, he issued a call-to-arms asking people to ' come and be part of what we have dreamt...for decades'

Almost 60 Australians fight for Islamic extremist groups in Iraq and Syria



One of Australia's most well-known jihadists continued to receive welfare payments from the Federal Government months after he had fled the country to join other Islamic extremists in the Middle East.

Khaled Sharrouf, who fled Australia in December on his brother's passport to link up with fundamentalist militia group Islamic State in Syria, was receiving a disability support pension at least two months after he left, according to The Weekend Australian.

It is understood by the newspaper the convicted terrorist's $766-a-fortnight payments continued even after it was known by officials he was bound for the Middle East, but it cannot be confirmed that he was able to access the money.

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One of Australia's most well-known jihadists, Khaled Sharrouf, fled Australia in December on his brother's passport to link up with fundamentalist militia group Islamic State in Syria Sharrouf is currently being investigated by Australian authorities in relation to allegations he is fighting with Islamic State - a breakaway al-Qaeda group. In 2008, he became a convicted terrorist when he pleaded guilty and was jailed for acts in preparation for a terrorist act after he was one of eight people arrested for plotting to attack the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor - in Sydney's south. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Australian Islamic extremist Musa Cerantonio arrested in the... 5 men sue over anti-terror info-sharing program Share this article Share When asked by The Australian to confirm its findings, Human Services Minister Marise Payne declined to comment due to privacy reasons. Currently, authorities do not have the power to scrap welfare if an Australian is thought to be engaging in terrorist activities but a disability pension can be stopped once a person is not in the country for six weeks.

An earlier picture on Sharrouf's Twitter page of a young child brandishing a gun with the caption: 'One of dawlas youngest members'

This new information comes to light after Sharrouf issued a call-to-arms for other Australian Muslims to join Islamic State's bloody war in the Middle East as well as posting a photo on Twitter of a young child brandishing a rifle. In the early hours of July 5, Sharrouf tweeted: 'come and be part of what we have dreamt...for decades'. It was accompanied by a picture of him decked out in army camouflage posing with a gun in front of a white BMW. This followed his fellow brother-in-arms Mohamed Elomar, one of almost 60 Australians fighting for extremist groups in the Middle East, took aim at diggers fighting in Iraq, tweeting: 'Look at the end of these Iraqi maliki dogs bunch of girls can't wait to see a Australia soldier cyring [sic] saying bakia.' The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 'bakia' meant 'he cries' in Arabic and 'maliki' was a term used to describes the Nouri al-Maliki government, which is led by Shiites. The regime is strongly opposed to Sunni extremists who have torn through Iraq's north in the past few weeks. Another tweet fired off from Sharrouf read: 'My (provisions) are beneath the shade of my sword. We live better than we lived in our country.'

But these uploads barely scratch the surface of the disturbing content found on Sharrouf's Twitter page. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Australian Islamic extremist Musa Cerantonio arrested in the... 5 men sue over anti-terror info-sharing program Share this article Share Earlier posts contain pictures so graphic that Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to describe or publish them. But one that can be shared is of a young child brandishing a gun and smiling with the caption: 'One of dawlas [sic] youngest members' - which was posted late May. Dawlah is Arabic for country or state. Other photos show Sharrouf standing in front of military vehicles as well as fundamentalist propaganda memes.

He told people to 'come and be part of what we have dreamt For for decades' and said: 'we live better than we lived in our country '



Khaled Sharrouf (pictured) is part of Islamic extremist group Islamic State - a breakaway group of al-Qaeda

These tweets came just days after the Australian Government said almost 60 Australians fight for Islamic radicals in Iraq and Syria.

WHO IS KHALED SHARROUF?

According to Attorney-General George Brandis, the former Sydney resident fled the country - believed to be on the way to Syria - on his brother's passport last December

At that time, Sharrouf was being monitored by the Australian Government. His passport had been cancelled and he was put on airport watch-lists



Sharrouf is currently being investigated by Australian authorities in relation to allegations he is fighting with Islamic State

He is a convicted jihadi terrorist after he pleaded guilty and was jailed for acts in preparation for a terrorist act in 2008 and was released in 2009, the Daily Telegraph reported



The conviction came after Sharrouf was one of eight people arrested in a plot to attack the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor - in Sydney's south, according to the Sydney Morning Herald

Meanwhile about 150 Australians were being monitored for supporting terrorist organisations, recruiting fighters or preparing to travel overseas to fight.

This information was revealed after Sydney teenager Abdullah Elmir, 17, became the third Australian teenager to walk out on his family in June bound for Iraq to fight in the troubled war zone.

He went missing from his family's Bankstown home - in Western Sydney - almost three weeks ago, and has only been heard from once when he contacted his mother to say he was in Turkey.

Ten Australians have died while fighting for extremists in Syria and Iraq.

The latest is a 22-year-old Sydney man, Zakaria Raad, who appeared in a recruitment video for the terror group Islamic State - formerly known as the 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' and 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' - shortly before he was ambushed in Syria.

In one of the recruitment videos entitled There Is No Life Without Jihad, an Australian man who calls himself Abu Yahya ash Shami said he wanted to send 'a message...from a Muslim brother's heart to another brother's heart'.

He appeals to Australian Muslims to come join him in the Middle East to restore 'honour' in the region, saying: 'Wake up, wake up and be part of this effort.'

The former Sydney resident fled from Australia in December - believed to be going to Syria - on his brother's passport