Australian terrorists trained in Lashkar-e-toiba camp in Pakistan

Accused 'trained in Pakistani camp'

Martin Chulov
November 09, 2005 SYDNEY father Khaled Cheikho is believed to have trained in a paramilitary camp run by outlawed Kashmiri group Lashkar-e-Taiba in early 2001.

An ASIO target for the past two years, the 32-year-old was identified at the Pakistani camp by a rollover witness testifying in a Sydney committal hearing earlier this year.

According to the witness, Mr Cheikho's nephew Moustafa, 28, arrived for training at the camp about a year after his uncle had returned to Australia. Moustafa was allegedly known in the camp by the alias Abu Asad.

Moustafa Cheikho was also among those arrested in Sydney yesterday.

Counter-terrorism officers will allege he was a conduit to the group of Melbourne men arrested in the co-ordinated national raids that stemmed from a two-year police operation dubbed Operation Pendennis.

Surveillance conducted since 2003 by ASIO officers and NSW police has revealed Khaled Cheikho is a staunch supporter of the Salafi interpretation of Islam, which calls for the strict implementation of Islamic law, condemns non-Muslims and curtails women's rights.

However, ASIO also believes he had established links with militants prepared to use organised violence to instill the ideology in Western societies.

Khaled Cheikho has been one of a group of about 15 men, most of them based in Sydney, targeted by ASIO. Almost all are members of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jamaah organisation. They follow two firebrand sheiks, Abdul Salam Mohammed Zoud in Sydney, and Mohammed Omran in Melbourne.

The Cheikhos are linked to Sydney fugitive Saleh Jamal, who is serving five years' jail in Lebanon on weapons charges.

The Australian Federal Police warned their Lebanese counterparts early last year that Jamal had fled Australia on a false passport and intended to become a suicide bomber. Lebanese prosecutors are attempting to upgrade Jamal's conviction to terrorism offences.

NSW authorities are seeking his extradition at the completion of his sentence to face charges in relation to the 1998 drive-by shooting of Lakemba police station in western Sydney.

The Cheikhos, together with Jamal, were linked to another arrested man, Khalid Sharrouf, whose sister-in-law introduced Sydney woman and former army signaller Melanie Brown to her husband Willie Brigitte, who has been detained in France on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in Sydney.

Police and ASIO have conducted around-the-clock monitoring of the men under arrest, in the biggest surveillance operation conducted by Australian law enforcement agencies.

Continuous video surveillance was placed on several of them.

Update:

New York Times:

16 Suspects Caught in Terror Raid Are Charged in Australia

The organization was not named. But in recent interviews, Australian intelligence and law enforcement officials have said that they were concerned about men who had trained with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Pakistani group that was formed, with help from Pakistani's intelligence service, to fight against India in Kashmir.