Australia to hold 'Mercuri '04' exercise

Australia to hold 'Mercuri '04' exercise

AUSTRALIA: Australia will hold a major counterterrorism exercise in March to ensure its security forces are prepared for any potential terrorist attack, federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said on Sunday.

Australia has never suffered a major terror attack on its soil, but 88 Australians were among the 202 people killed when bombs tore through two nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali on Oct. 12, 2002.

The Southeast Asian Islamic extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) has been blamed for the attacks.

Ruddock and Australia's main spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), has warned that JI has people in Australia, but the group is not thought to be well- organized here or capable of a major terrorist attack.

But Ruddock said Australia must be ready to respond if it was attacked.

Authorities from the federal government, two territories and four of Australia's six states will be involved in the March operation, known as Mercury '04, he said. It will be held over several days. -- AP