Australian suspects had 'chemical stockpile'

THE Sydney arm of an alleged Islamic terror network had stockpiled enough chemicals to make at least 15 large bombs, a newspaper reported yesterday, as police sifted through evidence seized in a series of pre-dawn raids earlier this week.

The eight suspects arrested on Tuesday in Sydney and charged with conspiracy to manufacture explosives in preparation for a terrorist attack had registered a series of company names to justify large purchases of industrial chemicals, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing unidentified investigators.

Two suspects, Omar Baladjam, 28, and Bosnian-born Mirsad Mulahalilovic, 29, had painting businesses that could be used as a possible cover for buying the chemicals, the newspaper reported.