CIA report unmasks Australian 'terror boss'

The Age June 10 2003 By David Adams

Related links: Crackdown on alleged 'terror boss' Terror expert calls for checks on airport staff Website: Islamic Youth Movement

A CIA report has named a Sydney man as Osama bin Laden's "man on the ground" in Australia, it was claimed last night.

According to Four Corners, the CIA report, issued last June and based on uncorroborated intelligence from the Palestinian Authority, said al-Qaeda was very active in Australia.

It said there were "rank and file and leadership elements heading to Australia with forged passports". It named Bilal Khazal, a resident of Lakemba, Sydney, as having connections with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

"The al-Qaeda leadership has allegedly delegated responsibility to Bilal Khazal," it said.

It said Mr Khazal, named by the program as the man behind the Sydney-based Islamic Youth Movement's magazine and website, had been closely watched since September 11.

The report claimed Mr Khazal was "reportedly planning an explosives attack against some US embassies", including one in Venezuela, as well as against US interests in the Philippines.

The program also said that in mid-2000 "there was intelligence that Mr Khazal was sending recruits from Australia overseas to train in Afghanistan".

Four Corners said it had been able to verify much of the detail in the CIA report but that Mr Khazal refused to comment on the record. The Age could not contact Mr Khazal last night.

According to Four Corners, Mr Khazal's home has twice been raided by authorities. The program said his passport was confiscated in February last year, the day before he was due to go overseas.

It also said that Mr Khazal was shifted from his job as a baggage handler at Sydney airport's international terminal following a security review in the lead-up to the Olympics.

The program also detailed allegations that al-Qaeda and banned terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah had plotted to bomb Israeli targets in Sydney and Canberra and to kill Jewish mining millionaire Joseph Gutnick.

The program also claimed that investigations had revealed the operations of the Philippines-based rebel group MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) were being partly financed from Australia.