Australia signs new 'counter-terrorism agreement' with US

Sydney, May 4 (ANI): Australia has signed a new counter terrorism deal with U. S. which highlights the threat of extremism at home and abroad,

Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, the Australian Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, and Justice Minister Jason Clare signed joint statements on transnational crime and counter-terrorism in Canberra on Friday.

The agreements came as papers seized from the Pakistan compound of Osama bin Laden were publicly released, documenting the late terrorist leader's ambition for further attacks on the "malignant tree" of the US and its allies.

"I think we all recognise that Osama bin Laden's death was a significant event and a significant degradement in al-Qaeda's capabilities, but certainly not the end of those capabilities nor the end of terrorism writ large. As we look forward we realise that we are living in a world of a continuing terrorist threat," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Napolitano, as saying.

Roxon said the risk of home-grown terrorism was "real" and claimed that "it's something that is a small risk, but has deadly consequences".

Under the statement on countering transnational crime, terrorism and violent extremism, the two countries will be able to share law enforcement data and expand the current information sharing on extremists and radical groups.

While Roxon said criminal and terrorist groups were increasingly using the internet, which made it all the more important 'to cooperate globally', Napolitano claimed the statements to be on lines of 'collaborative targeting and supply-chain security would be important in fighting the global drug trade'. (ANI)