Police have raided two Melbourne homes in counter-terrorism operations, with reports Friday linking them to an Australian man who appeared in a slick Islamic State propaganda video last year.
The properties in the northern Melbourne suburbs of Craigieburn and Meadow Heights were raided on Thursday, the Australian Federal Police confirmed Friday without giving details of the "ongoing investigation".
They belonged to the former wives of Mohomed Unais Mohomed Ameen, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, adding that he had appeared in a propaganda video promoting IS's "health service" in Syria.
The 41-year-old -- who was born in Sri Lanka according to the ABC -- had reportedly claimed to be working in physiotherapy at an IS-run hospital and appeared on screen beside another Australian, Tareq Kamleh, in the footage uploaded to YouTube in April.
The raids came as a 17-year-old boy, who was not named, on Friday pleaded guilty to preparing and planning a terrorist act last year.
Prosecutors alleged the teenager was in possession of a partially built pipe bomb when he was detained last year, with reports then linking him to a plan focused on Mother's Day celebrations, the ABC reported.
On Thursday, in a separate case, Melbourne court documents reportedly alleged that an Australian teenager facing terror charges discussed stuffing a kangaroo with explosives, painting it with the Islamic State group symbol and setting it loose on police.
The 19-year-old, Sevdet Besim, who on Thursday pleaded not guilty to four charges related to planning an attack last year, is due back in court next week.
The police operations are part of Australia's crackdown on nationals they fear are linked to home-grown extremism.
Canberra raised the terror threat alert level to high in September 2014, with the government passing a series of national security laws and police conducting numerous raids across the country.
Police have raided two Melbourne homes in counter-terrorism operations, with reports Friday linking them to an Australian man who appeared in a slick Islamic State propaganda video last year.
The properties in the northern Melbourne suburbs of Craigieburn and Meadow Heights were raided on Thursday, the Australian Federal Police confirmed Friday without giving details of the “ongoing investigation”.
They belonged to the former wives of Mohomed Unais Mohomed Ameen, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, adding that he had appeared in a propaganda video promoting IS’s “health service” in Syria.
The 41-year-old — who was born in Sri Lanka according to the ABC — had reportedly claimed to be working in physiotherapy at an IS-run hospital and appeared on screen beside another Australian, Tareq Kamleh, in the footage uploaded to YouTube in April.
The raids came as a 17-year-old boy, who was not named, on Friday pleaded guilty to preparing and planning a terrorist act last year.
Prosecutors alleged the teenager was in possession of a partially built pipe bomb when he was detained last year, with reports then linking him to a plan focused on Mother’s Day celebrations, the ABC reported.
On Thursday, in a separate case, Melbourne court documents reportedly alleged that an Australian teenager facing terror charges discussed stuffing a kangaroo with explosives, painting it with the Islamic State group symbol and setting it loose on police.
The 19-year-old, Sevdet Besim, who on Thursday pleaded not guilty to four charges related to planning an attack last year, is due back in court next week.
The police operations are part of Australia’s crackdown on nationals they fear are linked to home-grown extremism.
Canberra raised the terror threat alert level to high in September 2014, with the government passing a series of national security laws and police conducting numerous raids across the country.
