The first sign of a possible terror link came when a male caller claiming to be linked to the siege called the Channel 7 newsroom in Melbourne saying: “This is for IS” and “This is for Al-Qaeda.”
The gunman, claimed by the terror group to be a “soldier of ISIS”, had come to the attention of counter-terror authorities almost a decade ago.
Khayre had been involved in a 2009 terror plot to attack Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney’s southwest.
The plan was traced back to followers of a Somali-based terror group with strong links with Islamic State. Khayre is reported to have been Somali refugee who lived in Australia since he was a child.
Investigators thwarted the plot that if successful could have seen Australian soldiers killed with high-powered weapons.
The plan, known as the Neath plot, saw three men convicted and handed lengthy jail sentences.
However Khayre and another man involved were acquitted in 2010.