IS commander and Lebanese citizen Tarek Khayat and his Australian relative, Ahmed Merhi, were detained earlier this year, senior Australian officials have confirmed, the ABC reported on Wednesday.
The pair was in close contact with some of Australia's most notorious terrorism suspects from Syria but are believe to have moved to Iraq when IS changed territories last year.
Tarek Khayat is alleged to have directed his Sydney-based brothers to smuggle a bomb hidden inside a meat grinder onto an Etihad plane due to depart from Sydney for Abu Dhabi on July 15.
Four men were arrested in late July over the conspiracy.
Police searched a home in Surry Hills, Sydney, Friday, August 4, 2017 in relation to the investigation (Image: AAP) Source: Image: AAP
Two of the four arrested - Khaled Khayat and his brother Mahmoud Khayat - have each been charged with two counts of planning or preparing a terrorist act.
A third man, Khaled Merhi, was charged with an unrelated weapons offence, while the fourth was released without charge.
Another Sydney-based brother Amer Khayat was alleged to have been carrying the improvised explosive device, although there are conflicting views on whether he was aware of what it was.
The bomb never made it onto the airliner because it exceeded weight limits at the check-in counter.
A month after the arrests, Lebanon officials said Tarek Khayat had moved to the IS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria and become a commander in the jihadist group more than 12 months earlier.
