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Al-Shabaab denies links to Australian plot

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab has denied links to Australian men tied to a plot to carry out suicide bombing attacks on a military base in Sydney.

Australian officials charged three men of Somali origin with plotting to launch a suicide raid on an army base in Sydney. Authorities claim at least one of the men had trained with the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab in Somalia, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports.

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Sheik Ali Mohamoud Rage, the spokesman for al-Shabaab, denied the organization had any links to the suspects in Australia.

"These Muslims arrested -- we have no involvement with them at all," he said.

He went on to claim the arrests were part of a broader conspiracy to "arrest any Muslims" who do not cooperate with Western "infidels."

"It happens sometimes," he added. "Intelligence agencies force them to spy for them. If the Muslims refuse, they label them as terrorists."

An analysis of al-Shabaab by the International Crisis Group, however, notes the organization is fractured and any statements are unlikely representative of the entire group.

The claims follow statements by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who told an audience in Kenya the Sydney military plot was a sign that Somali insurgent groups posed a threat to the world community.

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"Just this week in Australia we have been reminded that there are those who would use Somalia as a training ground for attacks around the world," she said.

Her comments followed talks with Somali President Sharif Ahmed in Kenya on Washington plans to provide military and other assistance to the government in Mogadishu.

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