Islamic State supporters sent Lindt chocolates to a potential recruit as part of an indoctrination campaign that referenced the deadly siege at Sydney's Lindt Cafe, according to The New York Times.
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The unusual recruitment tactic was revealed in the Times profile of the case of IS supporters grooming a naive Sunday school teacher in the US for conversion to Islam and as a potential bride in IS.
The Times reporter was given access to emails, Skype chats and social media communications sent to the 23-year-old woman, whose family intervened in the recruitment bid earlier this year.
As part of the online indoctrination process, the woman reportedly received round-the-clock attention from a variety of IS social media operatives and was sent packages that included hijabs, pamphlets promoting polygamy and Lindt chocolates with a reference to the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney in December last year.
The chocolates were sent on several occasions, once in a package that included a Hallmark card that included a cutout picture of a kitten and two $20 bills. An accompanying note said, "Please go out and enjoy pizza TOGETHER" and was signed "Twitter friends", according to the Times report.
"Each bubble-wrapped package" sent by the alleged recruiter included bars of Lindt chocolate, the report said.
"She [the woman recruit] explained why the brand had special significance," the article read. "It was inside the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney, Australia, that a man claiming to be acting in the name of IS held a group of employees and customers hostage in a 16-hour standoff in December."
The stand-off was a reference to the siege held by Man Haron Monis that led to the deaths of hostages Katrina Dawson and cafe manager Tori Johnson. Monis was killed when police stormed the cafe after he fatally shot Johnson.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the recruitment after being tipped off by the woman's family, says the Times.
The Australian Federal Police have declined to comment about whether any investigation is ongoing into the link between the attempted recruitment in the US and the Lindt Cafe seige in Australia.
A spokesperson said the AFP did not comment on who it investigates or on intelligence matters.
Online recruitment is believed to play a significant role in the indoctrination of young Australians who seek to join IS. More than 100 Australian citizens are suspected of travelling overseas to join IS in Iraq or Syria.
Exactly what contact, if any, Monis had with IS is unknown and his motivation for targeting the cafe is not completely understood.
It has been suggested he first tried to enter the nearby Channel Seven studios and, when blocked, moved on to the Lindt Cafe, which was frequented by some Seven staff.
The link to IS was made when Monis reportedly offered to release one hostage in exchange for an IS flag – a request that police did not grant.
He also made hostages recite demands on social media that included a claim he would release two of their number if politicians told "the truth, which is that this is an attack by Islamic State against Australia".
An inquest into the hostage deaths was told that police were unable to find any links to IS when examining Monis' websites and Twitter and YouTube accounts.
It later emerged in evidence given to the inquest that in the weeks before the seige, Monis had written to federal Attorney-General George Brandis to ask about whether it was illegal to contact the head of IS.
Senator Brandis' office referred the letter to the Attorney-General's department, which drafted a routine response to Monis.