Australia warns of new terror threat

The joint U.S.-Australian satellite facility Pine Gap near Alice Springs in central Australia

By Grant Holloway
CNN

CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- The Australian government has warned of a possible terrorist threat to American or British interests in Australia.

Australian attorney-general Daryl Williams said Monday the government was "sufficiently concerned" about the threat to upgrade the nation's security alert levels.

In particular, the government has asked for aviation security to be upgraded, and for security arrangements at specific, but unnamed sites, to be reviewed.

Williams would not be drawn as to whether this included the joint U.S.-Australian satellite tracking facility of Pine Gap, which is located in remote central Australia.

The attorney-general said the information the government had received was unsubstantiated and was "not specific to any type of threat or location".

"We are treating the information seriously. We have further strengthened aviation security, and security at key sites is also being reviewed," Williams said in a statement.

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All major Australian law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies had been advised of the increased threat level, he said.

"They are working closely together, and with their international counterparts to investigate the information and any unusual or suspicious activity."

Williams said Australia had advised the United States and United Kingdom authorities of the threat.

He asked that Australians remain "constantly vigilant" and to report any unusual or suspicious activity or circumstances to the police.

Australia has this week introduced armed air marshals who will travel incognito on random domestic Australian flights.

Also Monday, the government said security agents had begun interviewing an Australian captured earlier this month fighting with al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda fighter David Hicks is now being questioned by Australian security

The man, 26-year old David Hicks from the southern city of Adelaide, is being held on the USS Peleliu in the Indian Ocean.

The government said it would not be releasing details of the interviews which were expected to take several days.

A self-styled "soldier of fortune" Hicks was believed to have been "intimately involved" in the al Qaeda network, according to the government.

Two other Australian men, one of whom has served in the Australian army, are also believed to be fighting with the Taliban or al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Australia was one of the first nations to offer military assistance to the U.S. following the September 11 terror attacks.

In total, Australia has committed more than 1,500 military personnel to the coalition response, included 150 Special Air Service troops currently operating at the front lines in Afghanistan.