Australia introduces illegal gun amnesty after Islamist-inspired attacks

Australia said on Friday it would introduce a three-month national gun amnesty, the first in more than 20 years, in a bid to reduce the number of illegal firearms which have been used in recent Islamist-inspired attacks.

Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that from July 1, locals can hand in illegal firearms to authorities without prosecution.

But a 2016 report estimated there were 260,000 illegal firearms in Australia, some of which have been used by radicalized locals to commit attacks.

In Australia's deadliest incident inspired by ISIL, a gunman used an illegal firearm in a 2014 Sydney cafe siege in which three people, including the hostage taker, were killed.

Earlier this month, gunman Yacqub Khayre used an illegal firearm to kill a man in an apartment block in Melbourne and then held a woman hostage before police shot him dead. The attack was claimed by ISIL and classified as "an act of terrorism" by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

(CGTN)