A common NSW Police counter-terrorism operation and the Australian Federal Police, has been ongoing since Wednesday morning. The operation, in collaboration with the country’s secret services, led to the arrests of seven youths following 400 police raids in south-west Sydney.
Those arrested appear to be connected to 16-year-old perpetrator of last week’s knife attack in the Wakeley area of Sydney which resulted in the injury of Bishop Emmanuel and minor injuries to three others.
This attack has been officially classified as terrorist attack by Australian authorities and the youths’ arrests came amid fears that an attack was possible.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said “a number of associates were identified” who “”authorities believed warranted further police attention and investigation.
The commissioner pointed out that these individuals posed a significant threat to public safety. Mr Hudson stressed that “the investigation involved intense scrutiny and monitoring of the individuals targeted over the past seven days, whose behavior led police to fear that they would engage in an ideologically motivated act of violence.”
“If they had committed any act, we would not have been able to prevent it and we believed, through the investigation, that an attack was likely to follow,” he pointed out.
“At the official meeting yesterday, we felt that the danger was too great and we had to act immediately to prevent it,” concluded the Police Commissioner.
Source: ERTNews
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