Australian officials are calling an incident in downtown Melbourne today a terror attack, and the Islamic State has already taken credit, calling the suspect one of its “fighters.”
According to reports, the man attempted to ram his vehicle packed with gas cylinders into a tram, which he missed. He then exited the vehicle and threw a device into the car, setting it on fire:
Map of Melbourne locating a fatal stabbing incident where a knife-wielding attacker killed one person and injured two others before being shot and captured by police pic.twitter.com/zc8DAVSAkW
— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 9, 2018
He then proceeded to stab three people — one fatally — and attempted to repeatedly stab police officers and bystanders who were trying to subdue him.
As you can see in the video below, after nearly stabbing a police officer he was shot at very close range [WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES]:
@abcmelbourne #bourkest source from wechat pic.twitter.com/xcrynAcmbT
— windix (@windix) November 9, 2018
The suspect later died during surgery:
🇦🇺 #Melbourne attack: Police confirm the attacker has died at hospital pic.twitter.com/OxvFczAOr4
— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) November 9, 2018
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Hassan Shire, a man of Somali origin. He arrived in Australia in the 1990s. He is the brother of an accused terrorist alleged to have plotted a mass murder at Federation Square on New Year’s Eve. His wife is still missing, and authorities believe she has been radicalized:
#BREAKING The female partner of the Bourke Street attacker has allegedly been radicalised and is being hunted tonight by police who have been unable to locate her https://t.co/0cNA5nObWN
— The Australian (@australian) November 9, 2018
The Age reports on how the incident transpired:
The attacker stopped his dual-cab ute on Bourke Street, near Swanston Street, before setting it alight about 4.30pm.
He then started attacking people with a knife, stabbing at least three people.
Witnesses told The Age they were shopping in the area when they saw a man throw what they believed to be a bomb into a car before it exploded.
They had initially thought the man was running to catch a tram close by, before a nearby police car rushed to the scene.
They heard screams and cries from the crowd before they were rushed from the area.
One bystander tried to push a trolley into the attacker. That man was pushed over onto the street, but got up and tried again with the trolley to stop the attack. Another man tried to ward him off with a traffic cone, a third was seen with a cafe chair.
Transit officers were the first to respond, with one officer using a tree to protect himself from the attacker as he lunged at them with the knife.
Police then shot the lone terrorist in the chest and arrested him before he was taken to hospital.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency published a claim of responsibility, saying that the attack was the work of one of their “fighters” and was in response to the group’s calls to attack coalition countries fighting against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq:
Following the ISIS terrorist attack in Melbourne, the following graphic has been put into circulation through the groups telegram channels. #Melbourne #ISIS pic.twitter.com/BwyQDrxaIH
— Mahmut Aytekin (@maytekin91) November 9, 2018
Police Commissioner Graham Ashton acknowledged that he was known to Victoria police and federal intelligence authorities — making this yet another “Known Wolf” terror attack.
This is not the first “Known Wolf” attack in Melbourne.
In June 2017, I reported here at PJ Media when Yacqub Khayre took hostages in Brighton in the Melbourne area. Two people were killed and three police officers were injured in that incident. The Islamic State claimed credit for that attack as well.
At the time of the incident, Khayre was out on parole after being previously arrested in a plot to attack a military base.
A terrorist plot against an airplane was foiled by Australian authorities in July of last year.
Another high-profile incident occurred in December 2014 in downtown Sydney, when Iranian-born Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis took hostages at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. He made his hostages record videos expressing his demands. One hostage was killed, as well as Monis, when police stormed the cafe.
Monis was another “Known Wolf” terrorist, as he was out on bail on murder charges related to his ex-wife being killed after being set on fire. He had also sent notes to the families of Australia soldiers killed fighting in Iraq.
Earlier this week, the Australian home affairs minister warned of returning fighters from Syria and Iraq who had fought for the Islamic State and other terrorist groups:
Foreign fighters remain a significant threat to the people of ASEAN states and Australia alike. By working together & maintaining strong relationships we are making progress against the fight of terrorism & serious organised crime. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/H1DjRIwcFn
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) November 7, 2018
In May of this year, the director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) told the Australian Senate that 110 fighters were either in Syria and Iraq or had already returned home, and that 70 to 90 Australians had been killed due to their involvement in the conflict.
He added that since 2012, around 220 Australian passports had been cancelled or denied, and another 39 suspended on the intelligence agency’s recommendation.
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Below, find Poole’s extensive coverage of the “known wolf” phenomenon here at PJ Media:
Oct. 24, 2014: ‘Lone Wolf’ or ‘Known Wolf’: The Ongoing Counter-Terrorism Failure
Dec. 15, 2014: Sydney Hostage Taker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Jan. 7, 2015: Paris Terror Attack Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 3, 2015: French Police Terror Attacker Yesterday Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 15, 2015: Copenhagen Killer Was yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Feb. 26, 2015: Islamic State Beheader ‘Jihadi John’ Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Apr. 22, 2015: Botched Attack on Paris Churches Another Case of “Known Wolf” Terrorism
May 4, 2015: Texas Attack Is Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
June 26, 2015: France’s Beheading Terrorist Was Well-Known By Authorities
July 16, 2015: Report: Chattanooga Jihadist Was Yet Another ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist, Anonymous Feds Dispute
Aug. 22, 2015: European Train Attacker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Oct 14, 2015: Yet Again: Turkey, Israel Terror Attacks Committed by “Known Wolves”
Nov 14, 2015: One Paris Attacker Was Previously Known to Authorities, Marks Fifth ‘Known Wolf” Attack in France This Year
Feb 16, 2016: Machete Attack in Ohio Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
May 16, 2016: News Reports Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ U.S. Terrorists
June 12, 2016: Orlando Night Club Attack by “Known Wolf” Terrorist Previously Investigated by FBI
July 14, 2016: Senate Intelligence Committee to Investigate “Known Wolf” Terrorism Problem
July 26, 2016: ISIS Suspect in Normandy Priest’s Killing Already Known to French Authorities
August 10, 2016: Canadian ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist Planned Suicide Bombing of Major City, Killed in Overnight Police Operation
August 19, 2016: Man Who Stabbed Rabbi Thursday in Strasbourg, France Involved in Prior Attack
Sept. 20, 2016: NY-NJ Bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami Already Known to Law Enforcement Authorities
Sept. 28, 2016: “Known Wolf” SCANDAL: In at Least 12 of the 14 Terror Attacks Under Obama, FBI Already Knew Attackers
Dec. 21, 2016: Suspect Sought for Deadly Berlin Terror Attack, Anis Amri, Yet Another Known Wolf
March 23, 2017: Five Days and Two ‘Known Wolf’ Terror Attacks, Yet No Apparent Concern From Western Governments
March 26, 2017: ’60 Minutes’ Whitewashes Massive FBI Failure in 2015 ISIS Texas Terror Attack
May 23, 2017: Manchester Bomber Is Yet Another “Known Wolf”
June 4, 2017: At Least one London Bridge Terrorist Was a “Known Wolf”
June 5, 2017: Melbourne Terror Attack Kills 2, Injures 3 Police…And It’s a ‘Known Wolf’
June 6, 2017: London Attack Reveals that ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism Is Worse Than You Could Imagine
June 19, 2017: Paris Terror Attack Targets Police on the Champs-Elysees, Suspect is Yet Another ‘Known Wolf’
August 15, 2017: U.S. Authorities Knew Texas ISIS Recruiter Had Told Manchester Bomber to Kill
Sept. 11, 2017: ‘KNOWN WOLF’ TERROR SCANDAL: CIA Knew About 9/11 Hijackers, Didn’t Provide Intel to FBI
Sept. 17, 2017: London Underground Bombing Another ‘Known Wolf’ Terror Attacks?
Sept. 20, 2017: London Tube Bomber Was Part of ‘Deradicalization’ Program
Nov. 1, 2017: New York City Terror Attack Is Confirmed as ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism … Again
Sept. 26, 2018: KNOWN WOLF: Westminster Terror Attacker Was on Radar of UK Authorities Since 2004
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