Police make an arrest in Sydney on Wednesday in a massive federal and state police counter-terrorism operation in which seven juveniles, allegedly members of a loose-knit extremist group, were detained following alleged stabbings at an orthodox Christian church last week. Photo by NSW Police Force/EPA-EFE
April 24 (UPI) -- Australian police arrested seven juveniles Wednesday in raids across New South Wales as part of a massive counter-terror operation involving 400 officers following a stabbing incident at a church in the Sydney suburbs last week.
The juvenile suspects, all male, were detained after search warrants were executed at 13 locations in Sydney and Goulburn, 56 miles northeast of Canberra, as part of a Joint Counter Terrorism Team investigation, Australian Federal Police said in a news release.
The AFP said a further five people, including two men and three juvenile males were assisting them with their inquiries and that investigators had seized a number of items of evidence including a "significant" haul of electronic material.
"Operational activity remains ongoing," police said but stressed that there was no specific threat to public safety and no threat to Thursday's Anzac Day commemorations.
AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the suspects all knew each other and that investigators had uncovered a "network" of people who share a "similar violent extremist ideology."
"At this time we have no evidence of specific locations, times or targets of a violent act. The JCTT has acted swiftly to disrupt these individuals, and the investigation remains ongoing," she said.
"Their behavior, whilst under that surveillance, led us to believe that, if they were to commit any act, we would not be able to prevent that."
NSW deputy police chief David Hudson said the arrests were a precautionary move due to the strong likelihood an attack was imminent.
Police felt the group, which Hudson stressed was loose-knit, "posed an unacceptable risk to the people of New South Wales, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety."
"No specific targets had been nominated. However, it's just the ongoing threat and loose nature of the group as well. Whilst coordinated to some degree, there were splinter factions doing their own thing as well."
Hudson said more than 400 members of the joint counter-terrorism team from the state and federal police forces, as well as the NSW crime commission, took part in the operation which got underway at about 11:15 a.m. local time.
The raids came nine days after the alleged stabbings of Mar Mari Emmanuel, a bishop in the Assyrian Orthodox Church, and three other people at a service April 15, which was upgraded to a terrorist attack the next day.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged over that incident.
