July 26, 2004
By Sue Dunleavy
Sydney Morning Herald
ISLAMIC terrorists have told the Government to pull troops out of Iraq or they will swamp Australia in "pools of blood".
An internet site run by the Tawhid Islamic Group, which claims to be al-Qaeda's European wing, said: "We will shake the earth under your feet as we did in Indonesia, and lines of car bombs will not cease."
ASIO was last night investigating the credibility of the group, which was unknown until last Wednesday when it made similar threats against Bulgaria and Poland. Italy also received a similar threat in the internet warning.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday the Government would not bow to the terrorists' demands.
And he blamed decisions by the Philippines and Spanish governments to withdraw their troops from Iraq after terrorist threats for the danger now faced by Australia.
"If we allow these sorts of threats to determine our foreign policy, then what we'll do is empower the terrorists," he said. However, he told Channel 9's Sunday program the Government was taking the threat seriously.
The threat came as the Iraq hostage crisis escalated with the seizure of a state company director and the apparent abduction of two Pakistanis, as Egyptian and Iraqi officials sought the release of a kidnapped Egyptian diplomat and a truck driver.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi cautioned Egypt not to cave in to the kidnappers' demands. "We hope that the hostage is going to be released. The Iraqi government will do its best."
Egyptian diplomat Mohammed Mamdouh Kotb was kidnapped in response to what his abductors, the Lions of Allah, described as an offer from Egypt to lend Iraq "security expertise". Cairo said it would "absolutely not" consider sending troops.
And the Pakistani Foreign Ministry yesterday said two Pakistanis working in Iraq were feared kidnapped.
Despite the internet threat, security warnings in Australia have not been upgraded . "We have no information that would lead us to do that," Mr Downer said.
The internet threat accuses Australians of going to Islamic lands to "loot its wealth and God willing we will move the battle to your country as you did to our countries, not only in Australia, but all Islamic and Arab countries.
"We call upon you to leave Iraq before your country turns into pools of blood," the Tawhid website says. "We will shake the earth under your feet and lines of car bombs will not cease, God willing."
The Daily Telegraph
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10247187%5E31317,00.html