Thwarted plot to down plane, Australians say
CANBERRA, Australia — Police have disrupted a plot to bring down an airplane and arrested four men in raids on Sydney homes, Australian officials said Sunday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said security has been increased at Sydney Airport since Thursday because of the plot. The increased security measures were later extended to all major international and domestic terminals around Australia..
“I can report last night that there has been a major joint counterterrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane,” Turnbull told reporters Sunday.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said details were scant on the specifics of the attack, the location and timing.
Colvin said that in recent days, law enforcement officials had become “aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an improvised devise.”
There was no evidence that airport security had been compromised, Colvin said.
“We believe it’s Islamic-inspired terrorism,” Colvin said when asked whether the Islamic State militant group was behind the plot.
Seven Network television reported that 40 riot squad officers wearing gas masks stormed a Sydney house before an explosives team found a suspicious device. Colvin declined to say whether a fully equipped improvised explosive device had been found at that address.
A woman whom police led away from a raid with her head covered told Nine Network television: “I love Australia.”
None of the four suspects arrested in five raids had been charged, Colvin said. He would not discuss what charges they might face. None of the arrested men worked in the airport industry, Colvin said.
The raids were carried out by the Australian Federal Police, the New South Wales state police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main domestic intelligence agency.
Turnbull said Australia’s terrorist threat level remained at “probable,” the third-highest setting on a five-level scale. He advised travelers in Australia to minimize baggage and to arrive at airports earlier than usual — two hours before departure — to allow for extra security screening.
“Some of these measures will be obvious to the traveling public, others will not. The increased measures will include additional checks of cabin and checked baggage,” Darren Chester, minister for infrastructure and transport, said in a statement. “While it is important the public is aware of the increased threat, Australians should not be alarmed and those traveling should go about their business with confidence.”
Some passengers experienced delays of up to 90 minutes at Adelaide and Sydney airports before passing through security on Sunday afternoon, ABC News reported.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the plot was the 13th significant threat broken up by police since Australia raised its terrorist threat level in 2014.