Australia lowered the threat level to ‘possible’ in 2022.
Sydney:
Australia on Monday raised its terror threat level from ‘possible’ to ‘likely’, citing a rise in extremist views in the country leading to a more than 50% chance of a land-based attack being planned in the next 12 months .
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had raised the country’s threat level after advice from security services, but said there was no immediate threat of attack.
“The advice we have been given is that more and more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant,” he told a news conference.
Australia lowered the threat level to ‘possible’ in 2022, after eight years to ‘probable’.
Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main intelligence agency, said tensions in the Middle East, including a conflict between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7, were a contributing factor increasing the threat level.
“The conflict has fueled grievances, promoted protests, undermined social cohesion and increased intolerance,” he said.
Australia has seen several violent attacks in recent months, some of which have been identified as motivated by extremism.
In April, Australian police said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some of his followers in Sydney was an act of terrorism motivated by suspected religious extremism.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
