Australia Elevates Terrorism Threat Level to ‘High’

Local Editor

The Australian government on Friday elevated its terrorism threat level to the second-highest warning in response to the domestic threat posed by the so-called "Daesh" [ISIL] movement supporters.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the increase from "medium" to "high" on a four-tier scale on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.

"I want to stress that this does not mean that a terror attack is imminent," Abbott told reporters. "We have no specific intelligence of particular plots."

"What we do have is intelligence that there are people with the intent and the capability to mount attacks," he said.

The domestic spy agency's Director-General David Irvine warned recently this week that the terrorist threat level had been rising in Australia over the past year, due in part to Australians joining Daeshto fight in Syria and Iraq.

It is the first time that the threat level has been elevated above medium since the scale was introduced in 2003.

Moreover, around 60 Australians are fighting with the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIL] and other extremist groups in the Middle East. About 100 more are involved in support networks for these terrorist organizations.

The Australian government is gravely concerned about the risk these people pose if they return home trained in terrorism, and wants to spend $600 million to beef up security in the country.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team