Police dig up yard of electrician who allegedly 'designed Islamic State missiles' from Young, NSW

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This was published 7 years ago

Police dig up yard of electrician who allegedly 'designed Islamic State missiles' from Young, NSW

By Rachel Olding
Updated

Not long after he moved to a 4-hectare property in the NSW town of Young in 2013, electrician Haisem​ Zahab​ watched a video on YouTube titled "model engineering for beginners".

It was one of dozens of online tutorials he pored over: how to make a steam engine, how to make a high-speed micro turbine, how to make a compressed air motor.

Police now allege Mr Zahab, 42, was using some of that knowledge, along with information direct from Islamic State, to research and design long-range guided missiles and laser warning devices for the terrorist group via the internet.

The sparkie, who relocated to Young from Yagoona with his wife and two young children, was arrested on Tuesday in a raid on the family's property.

Australian Federal Police dug up parts of the Young property on Wednesday.

Australian Federal Police dug up parts of the Young property on Wednesday.Credit: Rebecca Hewson

After combing the property with metal detectors on Tuesday, police returned to dig up parts of it on Wednesday in a sweep expected to take several days.

It's understood investigators aren't looking for anything specific but are making sure Mr Zahab hasn't hidden parts, resources or weapons.

Mr Zahab has worked largely in green energy, advertising his services in designing and installing solar panels around Young as well as selling "survival gear" on eBay including knives and torches.

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Police arrested 42-year-old Haisem Zahab on Tuesday.

Police arrested 42-year-old Haisem Zahab on Tuesday.Credit: AFP

His wife, Mervat, a DIY craft enthusiast, was a regular in local homewares stores although residents in Young said the family largely kept to themselves.

The extended family have been under investigation for 18 months after four members allegedly fled to Syria in 2016 and funnelled the proceeds of their Condell Park house sale to IS.

Police searched the property using metal detectors on Tuesday.

Police searched the property using metal detectors on Tuesday. Credit: AFP

Mr Zahab's YouTube account offers a small insight into information he gleaned from the web.

In between a video that claimed September 11 was a US government conspiracy, he "liked" online tutorials on making steam engines from scrap metal, self-running generators, a four-strike gas engine, biogas, a transducer to create an electrical signal and a pump from a Coke bottle.

Haisem Zahab's wife lashed out at a television camera after his appearance in Young Local Court on Tuesday.

Haisem Zahab's wife lashed out at a television camera after his appearance in Young Local Court on Tuesday.Credit: Nine News

More recently, he watched tutorials in how to use high-level computer programs for designing electronics prototypes.

Professor Clive Williams, a security expert at Australian National University and a former military intelligence officer, said the proposition of a rural tradie making missiles for IS at home was not as outlandish as it may sound.

"People who are handy at tinkering around and putting things together, there is so much information out there on the internet these days that people can make all sorts of things," he said.

He said a rudimentary device to use laser guidance or to pick up on incoming munitions would not be overly complex. A guided missile would be more difficult than building a rocket with no guidance system.

While IS would almost certainly have people who could do this in-house experts, observers said the terrorist group is known to crowd-source for help.

"The big thing here is the call by terrorist groups, 'whatever you've got, whatever skills, try and use it to help," said Jacinta Carroll, counter-terrorism analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Added academic Greg Barton: "Even an electronics hobbyist with non-degree technical training could offer something useful in the global 'brains trust' network."

It's not clear how useful Mr Zahab's alleged research may have been for IS.

However, it's understood his metadata shows he had substantial contact with several contact points within IS, not just his relative Hicham Zahab, who allegedly fled to Syria.

Hicham is suspected of selling his house to fund IS and subsequently joining an arms smuggling racket purchasing surface-to-air missiles for the terror group.

​Mr Zahab remains in custody charged with providing services related to the preparation of foreign incursions, an offence with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Young, renowned for its cherries, has a sizeable number of Muslim families and has long been praised by residents and local leaders for its peaceful multiculturalism.

Muslims first moved to the area more than 30 years ago to work on cherry farms. Such is the influx in recent years, an Islamic school opened last year.

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