Canberra, Mar 27: Australia has listed the Iraq-based Ansar al-Islam group as a terrorist organization under Australian law, citing its alleged links to al-Qaeda, Attorney-General Daryl Williams said today. ``Ansar al-Islam is based in northeastern Iraq and is dedicated to assisting al-Qaida in establishing an Islamic caliphate throughout the world,'' Williams told the Parliament. He said that the group is a Kurdish Sunni Islamic extremist organisation and is part of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda global network.
Australian intelligence agencies are ``almost certain'' the group was responsible for a suicide bombing in the north Iraq town of Sayed Sadiq on Saturday that killed an Australian television cameraman, 39-year-old Paul Moran, he said.
Listing a group as a terrorist organisation enables the government to quickly prosecute members or supporters under tough new laws created after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. Those laws carry prison terms of up to 25 years and make it illegal to be a member of a listed group or assist it in any way.

Williams said that the listing today followed a decision by the UN Security Council in February identifying Ansar al-Islam as a terrorist group and advice from Australian law and intelligence agencies earlier this week.
Bureau Report