Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester on Sunday announced that airport workers in the country will be subjected to explosives tests and additional checks under new measures aimed at bolstering security at airports after a failed attempt to smuggle an explosive device onto a plane.
The new measures aim to ensure safeguards with regards to casual workers and sub-contractors, something for which which pilots and terrorism experts have long lobbied.
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"These measures strengthen existing controls to ensure airport workers are authorized, properly identified and appropriately trained before entering secure airside areas," said Chester. "They may also be subject to security screening in the course of their duties."
In July, police foiled "Islamic-inspired" plans to smuggle a bomb onto an Emirates flight from Sydney, arresting four men in city-wide raids. One of the suspects had attempted to bring an improvised explosive device onto a flight days before.
'Only screened on a random basis'
Some lawmakers believe the measures aren't enough to cope with the growing threat to aviation security. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon told ABC radio that more needed to be done to ensure the safety of passengers and workers.
Australians would be shocked to learn that "those who have access to aircraft – the baggage handlers, caterers and everyone else who can have access to an aircraft – aren't screened or are only screened on a random basis," said Xenophon.
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Earlier this month, the Council of Australian Governments signed off on an agreement to share facial biometric data and provide federal police with real-time access to passport, visa, citizenship and driver's license images for criminal investigations.
In 2014, Australia raised its terror-alert level to high amid fears of foreign fighters returning from the Middle East after fighting alongside militant groups there.
Several times over the past 18 months, police have managed to thwart terror attacks and plots in Germany, which has clearly become a target for Islamic militants in Europe. The following made the headlines:
Image: Reuters/M. RehlePolice in Leipzig arrested 22-year-old Syrian refugee Jaber al-Bakr after a two-day manhunt following the discovery of explosives and other bomb-making equipment at his apartment in Chemnitz. He was suspected of plotting to attack a Berlin airport. Two days later, he hanged himself in his prison cell.
In July, the "Islamic State" (IS) claimed responsibility for two attacks carried out by asylum seekers. 15 people were injured in a crowded wine bar next to the entrance to a music festival in the Bavarian town of Ansbach after a rejected Syrian asylum seeker detonated an explosive device. The man killed himself in the attack.
A 17-year-old asylum seeker wielding an axe and a knife went on a rampage on a regional train near Würzburg, seriously injuring four members of a tourist family from Hong Kong and a passer-by. The attacker was shot dead by police. German authorities said the teenager was believed to be a "lone wolf" inspired by the IS, but without being a member of the network.
Three suspected members of the "Islamic State" terror network were arrested in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Baden Württemberg. Authorities say two of the men planned to blow themselves up in downtown Düsseldorf, while the other attacker and a fourth jihadist arrested in France planned to target pedestrians with guns and explosive devices.
Police arrested three people over a bomb blast that injured three people in a Sikh temple in Essen. The bomb detonated after a wedding party, blowing out windows and destroying a part of the building's exterior. A 16-year-old suspect turned himself in after police showed footage of the attack from a surveillance camera and special police units arrested another young suspect in his parents' home.
German-Moroccan Safia S. is charged with stabbing a police officer at the main train station in the northern city of Hanover. The 16-year-old girl is suspected of having been "motivated by members of the Islamic State group in Syria to commit this act," chief prosecutor Simon Heinrichs said.
In separate raids across the country, police arrested three Algerians suspected of links to the "Islamic State" militant group and of having planned a terrorist attack in Berlin. The Berlin prosecutor's office said prosecutors were aware of a "concrete" plan to target the capital.
The Eschborn-Frankfurt City loop bike race was called off after German police discovered it may have been the target of an Islamist terror attack. A 35-year-old German with a Turkish background and his 34-year-old wife were arrested on suspicion of planning the attack. Police found bomb-making materials in their home near the bike route.
ls/rc (dpa, Reuters)
