Alleged ISIS Recruiter Extradited from Türkiye to Australia

FILE: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
FILE: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
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Alleged ISIS Recruiter Extradited from Türkiye to Australia

FILE: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
FILE: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP

An ISIS militant who featured heavily in the terrorist group's recruiting propaganda will be charged with "serious terror offences" after being extradited to Australia from Türkiye, federal police said Friday.

Neil Christopher Prakash, 31, was arrested in Türkiye in 2016 after crossing into the country from Syria, AFP reported.

Prakash was sentenced in 2019 to seven years imprisonment by a Turkish court, which found him guilty of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Australian Federal Police said Prakash arrived in Australia by plane on Friday morning.

"An investigation started in 2016 when the man was alleged to have travelled to Syria to fight with ISIS," it said in a statement.

"The AFP will allege in court that the man committed a range of serious terrorism offences."

Authorities have estimated some 230 Australians travelled to Iraq and Syria to take up arms since 2012 -- Prakash being one of the most prominent examples.

He featured in ISIS recruiting videos in which he urged Australians to "wake up" and join the group.

Prakash was described by former conservative prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as one of the "key financiers or organizers" for ISIS in the Middle East.

Former Australian attorney-general George Brandis in 2016 said Prakash had been killed in Iraq following a targeted US air strike.

It was later confirmed that he was wounded but not killed in the blast.



Explosion at Tehran Military Site Kills 1 and Injures 10 Firefighters

A man walks past a mural painting of Iranian flags in a street in Tehran on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a mural painting of Iranian flags in a street in Tehran on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Explosion at Tehran Military Site Kills 1 and Injures 10 Firefighters

A man walks past a mural painting of Iranian flags in a street in Tehran on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a mural painting of Iranian flags in a street in Tehran on October 26, 2024. (AFP)

An explosion in a container at a military site east of Tehran killed one military personnel and injured 10 firefighters, Iranian media reported Thursday.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said fire initially broke out within the container, followed by an explosion as firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames.

Four firefighters were taken to the hospital and six others received treatment at the site due to slight injuries, according to other news outlets.

The report did not elaborate on the cause of the fire and explosion.

Jalal Maleki, a spokesperson for the Tehran Fire Department, told the news agency that the fire occurred at about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and involved a 50-square-meter (538-square-feet) container.

The area east of Tehran is home to the headquarters of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other military sites, situated near densely populated residential areas.

Reports of explosions in Iran's military sites are rare. However, in October Iran’s state-media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city. This followed a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian military sites, reportedly in retaliation for Iranian missile attacks against Israel.

In 2010, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said 18 members of the Revolutionary Guard force were killed in an explosion at a military base in the western city of Khorramabad.