Australia Counterterrorism Operation Results in Multiple Arrests
Published at
TkKurikawa/iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia) — Police executed a raid in the northwest suburbs of Sydney on Wednesday, the result of a counterterrorism operation.
More than 800 police officers were involved in the arrests of 15 people connected to the ISIS terror group. Seventy properties were raided in Brisbane. The operation was undertaken by the New South Wales police and the Australian Federal Police.
According to ABC Austalia, law enforcement officials say Afgan Australians were planning to kidnap and behead random members of the public. Police allege that an Australian fighting with ISIS in Syria — Mohammed Ali Baryalei — is behind the plot.
Omarjan Azari also is accused of plotting to abduct civilians off the streets and decapitate them in a manner similar to the recent ISIS beheadings of U.S. and U.K. citizens in Syria. The charges against Azari stem from a phone call intercepted by law enforcement earlier this week.
More ABC news videos | Latest world news
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio