Australia Domestic Intelligence Agency Chief Predicts Terrorist Attack within a Year

During a parliamentary inquiry today, Director-General Mike Burgess of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the country’s domestic intelligence agency, expressed his belief that a terrorist attack will occur in the country in the next year. In his remarks he noted that Islamic extremism remains a major threat and highlighted the growing concern presented by far-right extremists. “If you look at our current caseload, we still think Sunni based violent extremism is the major concern,” Burgess said. “However, given the growth in nationalist and racist violence we have seen, we anticipate there will be a terrorist attack in this country in the next 12 months.” Burgess said ASIO was focused on combatting threats from both groups. “It can come from either ideology and therefore for me doesn’t really matter, because they’re both capable of conducting acts of violence and that’s where we focus.” The Australian Federal Police’s Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney also told the inquiry he was concerned about the growth in far-right extremist groups. “It’s the fastest-growing threat, but at this stage it’s not the predominant threat,” McCartney said. Read more at Nine News.