Jabhat al-Nusra linked to Brisbane raids

JABHAT AL-NUSRA LINKED TO BRISBANE RAIDS

* Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as The Victory Front, was listed as a terrorist organisation in 2013, based on advice by Australian security agencies.

* It is a Syria-based Sunni extremist group whose ideology is the same as that of al-Qaeda, which helped set it up.

* The group has been endorsed by many al-Qaeda-linked extremist forums online, but has recently sought to play down its ideology via its website, The White Minaret, as it seeks to build popular support in Syria.

* Its objectives are to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and set up a Salafist-oriented Sunni Islamist state.

* It is known to have been involved in suicide bombings and sniper and small-arms attacks, as well as kidnappings and executions.

* Jabhat al-Nusra is led by Abu-Muhammad al-Jawlani (an alias) and has an estimated membership of between 6000 and 10,000, including foreign fighters from the Levant, North Africa and Western countries.

* Its most damaging action was a car bomb attack in Damascus in February 2013, which killed up to 100 people.

(Source: Attorney-General's Department)