Islamic group calls Australia the 'real terrorists'

Melbourne, Oct.20 (ANI): A radical Islamic group is facing fresh calls for it to be banned after accusing Australia and its allies of being the "real terrorists". report released by the local chapter of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir criticised senior MPs such as Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott for "welcoming" the killing of Osama bin Laden and for claiming he was responsible for some of the worst terrorist attacks in history.

"The reality is, of course, that the worst terrorist attacks in our times have ... been the likes of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, wherein the US and her allies have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people," the Herald Sun quoted it, as saying in a statement.

"The real terrorists therefore are Western governments ... the victims of whom in their millions cry out for justice and closure," the statement added.

The group, which is banned in several countries, said that Afghanistan would be the nail in the coffin of the American empire and "Australia can choose to go down with it by continuing a misplaced foreign policy".

The terrorism comments have provoked outrage among families who lost relatives in the Bali bombings, with calls for the group to be banned and its members deported.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said that Hizb ut-Tahrir's views were well out of step with the Australian community.(ANI)