Australia Raises Terror Threat Level Due To Increased View Of Extremism

JAKARTA - Australian authorities on Monday raised its level of terror threats from "possibly" to "probably" citing increased views of extremism in the country that led to more than 50 percent of the possibility of planning ground attacks in the next 12 months.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had raised the country's threat level following advice from security agencies, but said no imminent threat of attack.

"The advice we receive is that more and more Australians adhere to various, more diverse extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant," he told a news conference.

It is known, Australia lowered the threat level to "likely" in 2022, after eight years of "probably".

Meanwhile, Mike Total, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, said tensions in the Middle East, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, contributed to an increase in threat levels.

"The conflict has sparked complaints, prompted protests, undermined social cohesion, and increased intolerance," he explained.

Australia is known to have witnessed a number of violent attacks in recent months, some of which have been set with the motivation of extremism.

In April, Australian police said the knife attack on a church bishop and some of his followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by alleged religious extremism.