The former Australian schoolboy arrested in Lebanon and accused of preparing a suicide bomb attack can now be identified.
Ishaq Ul Matari, 19, has been in prison in Beirut since October 28 after he was arrested by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), News Corp reported.
He is accused of planning to become a suicide bomber in Lebanon or travelling to Syria to fight for ISIS, and is being held at Central Prison in Roumieh.
Originally from Blacktown in Sydney’s west, Mr Ul Matari was educated at the Australian Islamic College and prayed at Rooty Hill Mosque.
Ishaq Ul Matari, 19, has been in prison in Beirut since October 28 after he was arrested by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces
The ISF allege Mr Ul Matari contacted an ISIS cadre in Syria and was willing to ‘carry out a suicide or explosive operation in Lebanon’ (stock image)
A man at the family home said things were ‘very tense’ and ‘everyone is fully aware of the situation’.
Neighbours said Mr Ul Matari was friendly but could occasionally be heard arguing with his parents.
‘But every teenager does that… I never saw anything like [extremism],’ a neighbour said.
‘He was always a polite young kid. That’s a bloody shock.’
From prison, Mr Ul Matari said he he been receiving visits from the Australian embassy in Lebanon and hoped to be released from prison soon.
According to Lebanese sources, Australian intelligence officials had been in Lebanon this month collecting Mr Ul Matari’s police file.
He was 18 when he was arrested in 2017 in Tripoli.
The ISF said the teenager was born in Lebanon in 1999 but had lived in Australia.
They claim he became radicalised in Australia after watching ISIS videos online.
Mr Ul Matari travelled to Lebanon on an Australian passport, and was monitored by ISF.
He is accused of planning to become a suicide bomber in Lebanon or travelling to Syria to fight for ISIS, and is being held at Central Prison in Roumieh
In August, Mr Ul Matari posted a photo of himself wearing Islamic clothing and squatting next to a sheep which had its throat cut.
He has been accused of downloading how to make bombs and videos of ISIS assassinations from the internet.
The ISF allege Mr Ul Matari contacted an ISIS cadre in Syria and was willing to ‘carry out a suicide or explosive operation in Lebanon’.
‘He…was convinced of the idea of jihad, and the implementation of suicide operations in favour of Daesh, and to this end, through the internet, downloaded the encyclopedias on how to manufacture explosives, and many videos about previous assassinations carried out,’ ISF claimed.
He has been accused of downloading how to make bombs and videos of ISIS assassinations from the internet (stock image)
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