Sydney, Melbourne suburbs with highest terrorist recruitment revealed by ASIO chief Duncan Lewis

Sydney, Melbourne suburbs with highest terrorist recruitment revealed by ASIO chief Duncan Lewis

Melbourne : Maps paraded in public by Australia’s domestic spy chief have revealed the most prevalent Sydney and Melbourne suburbs for terrorist recruiting.
ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis gave Prime Minister Tony Abbott an update on the security situation in Iraq and Syria during a briefing inside the agency’s new headquarters in Canberra.Television and newspaper cameras were allowed in for part of the meeting, during which Mr Lewis showed the Prime Minister glossy, coloured ASIO maps of where most Australian foreign fighters have come from.”This is a map which shows the two cities of Melbourne and Sydney, where fighters who’ve gone off to the Middle East have emanated from, the home addresses if you like,” Mr Lewis said.”Not surprisingly you see a concentration down here and up here in Melbourne, and then to the west of the city of Sydney over here,” the ASIO boss explained as he pointed to highlighted sections of the cities.Maps laid out on a table for Mr Abbott showed highlighted suburbs in Sydney including Lidcombe, Greenacre, Punchbowl, Bankstown, Auburn and Lakemba.The suburbs highlighted in Melbourne included Craigieburn and Campbellfield.Opposition defence spokesman David Feeney says Mr Abbott may have facilitated a significant security breach.”The Prime Minister must immediately clarify whether these documents were for official use only,” he said.Earlier in the day, an ASIO spokesman told the ABC the documents were intended for “official use only”, meaning they were not meant for publication.Mr Lewis also explained to Mr Abbott the maps would be used to direct the spy agency’s counter-radicalisation efforts.Mr Lewis also confirmed the latest figures on Australian jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria.”The number away still remains around 120, and the number here supporting them is around about 160,” Mr Lewis said.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login