Australia has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. Photo / Supplied
Australia has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. Photo / Supplied
Australian counterterrorism police said they arrested a 24-year-old man in Sydney yesterday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, the latest in a string of arrests connected with radical Islamist-inspired violence.
"A Bankstown man was arrested today by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) Sydney as part of the ongoingOperation Appleby investigation into the alleged planning of a terrorist attack in Australia," the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
"It will be alleged in court the man was one of a number of people - who have been previously charged regarding this matter - involved in formulating documents connected with preparations to facilitate, assist or engage a person to undertake a terrorist act."
Last week, police carried out raids across Melbourne in connection with five men accused of planning to travel to Syria to join Isis (Islamic State) via a journey that would start with a motor boat trip from Australia to Indonesia.
The men, aged between 21 and 31, were charged with preparing to enter a foreign country "for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities", an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The five, who were not identified, were arrested after towing a 7m motor boat almost 3000km from Melbourne to Cairns.
In an unrelated incident on the same day, police in Sydney arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly planning to obtain a gun to commit a terrorist act targeting public buildings or landmarks in the city.
Australia, a staunch US ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots.
