Australian Islamic center linked to Gallipoli centenary plot shuts down

[WorldNews]

By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian Islamic community center linked to five men arrested for planning an attack at a World War One centenary event said on Thursday that it was closing immediately, citing harassment. Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews said the men were "associates" of Abdul Numan Haider, an Islamic State sympathizer who was shot dead last year after he stabbed police officers, and who was known to have attended the Al-Furqan Islamic Centre in Melbourne. The run-up to this year's centenary of the landings at Gallipoli - a major holiday in Australia and New Zealand - has been has been marred by concerns that radicals may target the celebrations for a high-profile attack. The Australian newspaper reported that the most senior Australian recruiter for the Islamic State in Syria, Neil Prakash, was also a former member of Al-Furqan.

 

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