| ID | 160137 |
| Title Proper | Homegrown terrorist cell |
| Other Title Information | observations of a police undercover operative |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ilardi, Gaetano Joe |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | On 10 October 2004, an improvised explosive device was detonated in bush land in the vicinity of Mount Disappointment on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. A relatively small device, it was assembled and detonated by one of the two men present, a Victoria Police officer and undercover operative known as Security Intelligence Officer 39, or SIO39. The other person was the leader of a homegrown terrorist cell, who in the months preceding had assembled a group of a dozen individuals who became the subject of Australia's largest counterterrorism investigation known as Operation Pendennis. This article, which is based on in-depth interviews with SIO39, provides unique insights into a range of activities and behaviors peculiar to this cohort. Commencing his association with the group early in its development, SIO39 was privy to some of its key evolutionary stages, from a collection of individuals meeting more or less in the open, to a clandestine body that clearly harbored terrorist intent and undertook a number of overt acts to advance its violent objectives. |
| `In' analytical Note | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Vol. 41, No.4-6; Apr-Jun 2018: p.474-490 |
| Journal Source | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Vol: 41 No 4-6 |
| Key Words | Homegrown Terrorist Cell ; Police Undercover Operative |