SYDNEY (AP) — Australian officials say the plan by supporters of the Islamic State group was to carry out random beheadings in Sydney and videotape the attacks.
But officials say the plot was thwarted when 15 people were taken into custody during about a dozen raids today throughout Sydney.
One person taken into custody has been charged with conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist attack.
Australia’s attorney general says a person born in Afghanistan who had spent time in Australia had ordered Islamic State supporters to carry out the beheadings. Attorney General George Brandis tells the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that if police had not conducted the raids today, there’s a likelihood the attacks would have happened.
Officials have not named the person who gave the orders, but in court documents filed today, authorities have named Mohammad Ali Baryalei, a 33-year-old former Sydney nightclub bouncer who’s believed to be Australia’s most senior member of the Islamic State group.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
