Bus with Muslim children
stoned in Australia in
apparent retaliation attack
The Associated Press
9/13/01 3:42 AM
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- A school bus carrying
Muslim children was stoned in apparent retaliation for
terrorist attacks in the United States, officials said
Thursday.
Queensland state Islamic Council chairman Sultan Deen
said stones and bottles damaged the side of the bus
Wednesday in the northeastern city of Brisbane. Nobody
was injured.
"The children are quite shaken up," Deen said.
He said public outrage over the U.S. attacks has also led
to abusive phone calls to mosques. Suspicion for the
attacks has fallen on Saudi terror suspect Osama bin
Laden, who is thought to be living in Afghanistan.
"It is very disturbing. They are saying things like, `You will
be held responsible' and `We'll get you,"' Deen said.
Defense Minister Peter Reith said three Australians were
confirmed dead in Tuesday's attack on the World Trade
Center in New York, but he expected the number to rise.
"We have little doubt that we will need to brace ourselves
for more," he said.
Meanwhile, pro-Islamic slogans were daubed on a building
in Melbourne's central business district overnight, police
said.
The Chairman of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Yasser
Soliman, said the Muslim community was shocked and
appalled by the terror attacks.
"Terrorism, the killing of innocent people, is a crime
against God and against humanity," Soliman said in a
statement.