Isaac el Matari, 20, pleads guilty to planning Sydney terror attack
A young man who allegedly wanted to create a Blue Mountains stronghold to launch guerrilla-style attacks across Sydney is facing life behind bars after admitting to terror-related offences.
Police & Courts
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A young man who allegedly wanted to create a Blue Mountains stronghold to launch guerrilla-style attacks across Sydney is facing life behind bars after admitting to terror-related offences.
Isaac el Matari allegedly proclaimed he was the “general commander of IS Australia” before he was brought down and arrested during sweeping raids by the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team in Sydney last July.
The 20-year-old from Greenacre has pleaded guilty to doing an act in preparation and planning for a terrorist act and engaging in preparations for incursions into foreign countries for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities.
His matter has now been moved up to the Supreme Court where he will be sentenced at a later date because his charges are so serious. He is facing the prospect of life behind bars.
El Matari was arrested during a series of raids that NSW Police said foiled an alleged terror plot that had mentioned police stations and churches as targets in Sydney’s CBD.
According to documents previously tendered to the Local Court, el Matari funnelled money offshore to buy a gun and gun parts and collected US army clothes in the hope of creating a stronghold in the Blue Mountains to launch guerrilla-style attacks in Sydney.
Police allege in the documents he wanted to bring guns and TNT into Australia while overseeing a group of IS fighters from his planned mountain base.
He also allegedly said he was the “general commander of IS Australia” and told others “we are terrorists”, the documents stated.
But el Matari’s alleged plans were not limited to just Australia.
The court documents say he had attended Sydney’s Pakistani consulate to obtain a visa and had booked flights to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad via China at a Flight Centre store in Penrith before his arrest.
Police allege el Matari hoped to cross the Pakistani/Afghani border into Khorasan province, which was an IS enclave in Afghanistan.
El Matari is also charged with knowingly being a member of a terrorist organisation but a plea is yet to be entered for that charge.
He is due in the Supreme Court for a mention next month.
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El Matari was arrested as part of a NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team probe targeting a group of people who allegedly supported IS.
The NSW JCTT comprises of officers from the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police, ASIO and the NSW Crime Commission.
Police executed six search warrants at properties at Greenacre, Toongabbie, Chester Hill, Ingleburn, Green Valley and Canada Bay during the operation.