Excerpted From Bloomberg: Australian counter-terrorism agencies have foiled a plot to “bring down” a plane in a terrorist attack, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says. Four men were arrested on Saturday night by counter-terrorism officers in…
Excerpted From Bloomberg: Australian counter-terrorism agencies have foiled a plot to “bring down” a plane in a terrorist attack, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
Four men were arrested on Saturday night by counter-terrorism officers in raids on four Sydney properties over an alleged plot to blow up an aircraft.
“My number one priority, and that of my government, is the safety and security of all Australians, ” Turnbull said. “The public should be reassured that our security and intelligence agencies are working tirelessly to keep us safe.” […]
Turnbull added that the plot seemed to be carefully planned and was not the work of a lone wolf.
“We face a range of terrorist threats, ” Turnbull told reporters. “Some of them are lone actors, who activate very quickly with very little warning. On other occasions you get quite elaborate conspiracies. This appears to be in that category.”
‘Improvised Device’
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said officers became aware people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an “improvised device.” Colvin added that the plot was believed to be inspired by Islamic State.
“At this stage, we don’ t have a great deal of information on the specific attack, the location, date or time, ” he said. “However, we are investigating information indicating that the aviation industry was potentially a target of that attack.”
The four men in custody had not been charged. None of the men worked in the airport industry, Colvin said. Police believed the alleged planned attack was aimed at the Australian aviation industry at a major airport. Read the whole thing
