'Known terror suspect' shot dead

Police in Melbourne have shot dead a "known terror suspect" who stabbed two officers, a day after the Islamic State group called for Muslims to indiscriminately kill Australians, officials said on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old, whose passport was canceled a week ago on security grounds, was killed on Tuesday evening, having arrived at a police station on the outskirts of the city to attend a "routine" interview.

The incident occurred as tougher counterterrorism laws were introduced to Australia's Parliament on Wednesday to combat the threat of foreign fighters, with a proposal to criminalize travel to known terror hot spots without a legitimate reason.

Terror suspect Abdul Numan Haider was met by two members of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team and greeted them with a handshake before pulling out a knife and attacking both men, with one stabbed in the head, neck and stomach.

One officer fired a single shot that killed him, police said, adding that the teenager was carrying two knives.

The Sydney Morning Herald said he had an Islamic State flag with him and planned to behead officers and post the images online, although police would not confirm this.

"I can advise that the person in question was a known terror suspect who was a person of interest to law enforcement and intelligence agencies," Justice Minister Michael Keenan said, adding that the attack was unprovoked.

Large-scale raids

Both police officers were in a stable condition after undergoing surgery.

The attack came after Islamic State militants released a statement on Monday urging the indiscriminate killing of citizens of countries taking part in the US-led coalition against the group, which has seized swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Australia was singled out, along with the United States, Canada and France.

"Obviously, this indicates that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

Canberra raised its terror threat level this month and carried out large-scale raids in Sydney and Brisbane to disrupt an alleged plot by Islamic State supporters to abduct and behead a member of the public.

The government believes up to 60 Australians are fighting alongside Islamic State jihadists, while 20 have returned and at least another 100 are actively working to support the movement at home.

Underlining Australian fears about the threat they could pose, the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill introduced to Australia's Parliament would make it a crime to travel to places considered terror hot spots without a valid reason, such as aid work or journalism.

AFP - AP

(China Daily 09/25/2014 page12)