MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The minister said a terrorist of Lebanese origin plotted the foiled attack with four accomplices.
"The intelligence department of the Lebanese internal security forces recently managed to prevent an explosion aboard an Emirates Airlines plane flying from Australia to Abu Dhabi," Machnouk said.
The Information Division of the Lebanese Homeland Security Authority started to trace Tariq Khayyat, one of the brothers, a year ago when he went to the Syrian city of Raqqa, which is a stronghold of the Daesh terror group. Tariq Khayyat turned out to be a senior Daesh leader.
According to Machnouk, the Lebanese and Australian authorities put Khayyat's three brothers, Amer, Khaled and Mohmoud, under constant surveillance.
Explosives, which were going to be used to down a jet with 400 passengers, were discovered after an airport inspection revealed that a hand baggage item was heavier than allowed. The explosives were found in a meat mincer and a barbie doll, Machnouk said.
In late July, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that four people, suspected of preparing a plot to bring down an airplane, were detained during counterterrorism raids conducted in the Australian city of Sydney. The aviation terror level threat was subsequently upgraded from possible to probable but several days later downgraded to the previous level.
