Australia hopes to extradite top IS recruiter

Australia is awaiting a response from Turkey to its extradition request for a citizen believed to be a top recruiter for the so-called "Islamic State" (IS).

Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said Monday the suspect is believed to be Neil Prakash (photo above), who has been linked to several planned attacks in Australia and appeared in IS videos and magazines.

Prakash, who is also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, has been described as "the most dangerous Australian" and was captured by Turkish forces several weeks ago as he attempted to enter Syria from Turkey. Prakash was thought to have died in a United States airstrike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on April 29, but was merely injured.

Link to terror plots

"[Prakash] is obviously subject at the moment to the Turkish justice system and Turkish legal processes. The most important thing of course is that people involved in allegations of this nature face justice," said Keenan.

The Australian government said they worked with Turkish authorities to arrest Prakash and would collaborate further to extradite him.

"Australia will collaborate closely with Turkish authorities… Australia and Turkey have a longstanding history of cooperation to combat terrorism," a government statement said.

Prakash has been linked to a failed plot to behead a police officer in Melbourne in April 2015 and to an 18-year-old who was killed after stabbing two police officers in Melbourne in 2014. Prakash faces a potential life sentence in Australia if he is convicted of terrorism charges.

kbd/cmk (AFP, AP, Reuters)