Australian counter-terrorism police have arrested two men in Sydney in connection with a planned attack.
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Australian counter-terrorism police have detained two men in connection with a planned attack. The men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in Sydney on Wednesday.
“There was enough there that gave concern to us that something was being planned,” Federal Police Deputy Commissioner, Michael Phelan, told journalists at a press conference following the arrests, “and that’s why a person was charged… in relation to having a document that was designed to clearly facilitate an attack.”
Australia has been on heightened alert of terrorist attacks since September and police have launched massive raids in Sydney and Brisbane in recent months.
Police have been monitoring a group suspected of funding the Islamic State and planning attacks. Eleven people have now been arrested in connection with the operation.
Today’s arrests come just one day after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned of an increase in extremist chatter, and eight days after a fatal 16-hour siege at a Sydney cafe.